Des Moines Register
A central Iowa ethanol plant that President Joe Biden visited last year to announce his administration was lifting restrictions on the summer sale of E15 is being fined for allegedly failing to comply with federal Clean Air regulations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Poet Biorefining in Menlo has agreed to pay an $89,860 fine to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, designed to limit harmful air pollution releases.
After reviewing the Poet plant's records in 2022, the EPA alleged the company failed to properly operate the facility’s scrubber to limit releases of volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, both of which can cause health issues, the EPA said.
In response to the EPA’s findings, the company corrected the alleged violations and "implemented procedures to ensure that the scrubber operates within required parameters," the federal agency said.
The plant is owned by Poet, the South Dakota company that is the world's largest ethanol producer.
Biden visited the Menlo plant, located about 45 miles west of Des Moines, in April 2022 to announce EPA was lifting restriction on the summer sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol — called E15 — to help boost fuel supplies and lower prices at the pump.
It's also where internet sleuths debated whether a bird dropped some political commentary on the president's shoulder. Those attending, though, said the substance hitting Biden was dried distillers grain, a high-protein byproduct that was piled about 20 feet high in the building where the president spoke. The grain is fed to cattle and other livestock.
The EPA lifted restrictions on E15's summer sale this year as well. Gov. Kim Reynolds and a bipartisan group of other Midwest governors are pushing the EPA to provide permanent year-round access to E15. The federal agency has proposed a rule making the change, which is not expected to take effect until next year.
The EPA said volatile organic compounds may result in eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, organ or central nervous system damage, and cancer, with direct or long-term exposure. And hazardous air pollutants are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health impacts, such as reproductive effects, birth defects, or adverse environmental effects, the agency said.
Reducing air pollution from the largest sources of emissions is a top priority for the EPA, the agency said.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8457.