The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality today will grant Osage Bio Energy LLC an air permit the company needed to begin construction of an ethanol plant in Hopewell.

The Glen Allen-based company plans to build a facility with the capacity to produce up to 68.2 million gallons of ethanol per year. Construction is expected to begin in early October, said Joel Stone, Osage Bio Energy's chief operating officer.

"We are excited and ready to go," Stone said yesterday. He said the company has chosen a contractor to build the plant, which is expected to open in May 2010.

The project has split Hopewell residents and officials, some of whom say they will continue to fight it.

The DEQ decided to grant the permit based on a review of public comments the agency received and an analysis of a modeling of pollutants, said Sparky H.L. Lisle Jr., DEQ's air-permit writer.

The agency determined that "the proposed ethanol facility in Hopewell would not cause or significantly contribute to a predicted violation of the applicable" National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

In June, Osage Bio Energy purchased the Exeter site, a 55-acre parcel near downtown Hopewell, sealing an agreement the company made in December with the city and Richmond-based developer HDC LLC.

Hopewell received $1 million for the 12 acres it owned. HDC owned the remaining 43 acres of the site at the end of South Main Street. The sum Osage paid to HDC was undisclosed.

The company still is seeking some city building permits, which it expects to obtain without difficulty.

The plant, which could be the first of its kind in Virginia, would provide 45 to 55 full-time jobs and an estimated $2.2 million in tax revenue to Hopewell. Building the facility could cost $150 million to $160 million, the company estimates.

Hopewell's decision to sell property to Osage Bio Energy prompted protests and two lawsuits that were decided in favor of the ethanol industry.

Yesterday, some opponents acknowledged they have few options left to stop the project, but said they will continue to fight.

"I am disappointed," said Councilman Kenneth B. Emerson, an opponent. He said there are options that could slow the process, including plans by some residents to appeal to DEQ to reconsider the permit approval.

Councilman Curtis W. Harris, who this year led two unsuccessful legal battles against the project, said he is considering bringing the matter to federal court on the question of environmental justice, considering that about 62 percent of the residents within a 1-mile radius of the site are black.

A lawsuit, however, would cost thousands of dollars, which Harris said he does not have.

Industry supporters said yesterday they welcomed the DEQ's decision, as it will expedite the process for bringing new jobs to the city of about 23,000 residents.

"This is an opportunity to grow and also will provide employment to some residents," Mayor Brenda S. Pelham said.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or llazo@timesdispatch.com.

About the plant

Plant name: Appomattox Bio Energy
Company: Osage Bio Energy LLC
Cost: $150 million to $160 million
Start of construction: early October
Projected completion: May 2010
Full-time jobs: between 45 and 55
Projected tax revenues for Hopewell: $2.2 million