The following information explains the MPCA's role and activities regarding the Gopher State Ethanol facility in St. Paul. Since the Gopher State Ethanol Plant began making ethanol in St. Paul in April 2000, neighbors have reported odor coming from the plant. Some neighbors have reported feeling sick from the odor. The MPCA, plant management and the city of St. Paul have been working together since July 2000 to find exact causes and possible solutions to the odor problem. This odor is a serious problem for St. Paul residents, and the MPCA is committed to working with the parties involved until it is resolved.
Ethanol is a gasoline additive that reduces air pollution.
There are 13 other ethanol plants in Minnesota, but none right in the middle of a large city, as is Gopher State. Residents near these other plants occasionally comment on the distinctive yeasty odor, some reporting it as unpleasant. The same holds true for ethanol plants in other states. In January 1998, the MPCA completed an environmental review on the proposed ethanol operation. The environmental review evaluated the potential for odor problems and concluded, based on the proposed operation and the best information available at the time, that odor would not be a problem.