Risk of decreased water table (including depletion of private wells and possibly our lakes), due to the extraordinarily high volume of water required for ethanol production.  Water requirements will begin at six times the amount that all of Milford currently uses, and will grow as the refinery expands.

Risk of significant loss to local residential property values. Lifetime Milford resident
and real estate appraiser Phil Beer plans to draft a letter to our County Commissioners stating it's his professional opinion that property values in Milford and the surrounding area are likely to drop significantly if the refinery locates here.  If Milford's assessed values drop so will our property taxes, and that in turn could lead to higher property taxes elsewhere in the Wawasee school district in order to keep funding for our schools stable. 

Threat of contamination of our water table by chemical spill or wastewater pollution.  A study published by Purdue University rates the vulnerability of our area's groundwater to contamination as "high" due to our predominantly sandy soil. 

Hundreds of tons of air pollution emissions per year, including emissions defined as carcinogens by the EPA. This constant, unavoidable exposure could pose a serious health risk to our community, especially to children, senior citizens, and those suffering from asthma & other lung diseases.  Sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides pose a special threat to our area lakes.  

Click here to see how the refinery's air pollution emissions would compare to other local employers.

Learn more about the health effects of air pollution emissions in this Plain English Guide to Air Pollutants at the EPA website.

Necessity for an evacuation plan & increased fire protection, due to risk of spill, leak, fire or explosion.  Emergency response plans in other communities have included a 2.5 mile evacuation radius surrounding the refinery, with an additional 2.5 mile radius stay-indoors area.  This evacuation zone would include all of Milford itself (including the school & nursing home); half of Waubee lake to the south; Camelot Lake to the east; west past County Road 200, and north past US 6.

Substantial increase in truck and train traffic delivering raw materials (corn and hazardous chemicals) to the refinery and transporting finished fuel out.  VeraSun indicates there will be 48,000 trucks per year hauling grain alone.  This will lead to increased noise, vibration, pollution, risk to pedestrian traffic at crosswalks, increased risk of accidental chemical spill, as well as other traffic hazards.

Noxious odor, excessive lighting, and noise disturbances from daily production operations at the refinery.  "Meeting EPA standards" does not mean odor-free emissions.

Few tax dollars flowing back to our community, other than to provide for the refinery's own required upgrades to roads & fire protection.  The financial benefits of the refinery will largely flow out of the Milford/Syracuse area.

Limited job opportunities for local residents. According to a survey conducted by Ethanol Producer Magazine (published in the  December, 2006 issue) 72% of ethanol industry employees hold a bachelor's degree and/or post-graduate degree.  Their positions include engineering, chemistry, logistics and managerial jobs.  According to the same survey, positions held by employees with post high-school training or some college (but no degree) make up 22% of the work force.  Those employees with a high school diploma or less account for only 6% of ethanol industry employees.  Opportunities for residents of Milford & Syracuse will likely be limited, and not as high paying as the "average" salaries Verasun has promoted in its press releases.  Other than site preparation, many of the construction jobs will likely go to national fabrication companies who specialize in building ethanol refineries & who have their own staffs.

Limited economic growth benefit. This report (by Iowa State University Economics Professor David Swenson) challenges the optimistic economic numbers promoted by the ethanol industry.

Negative impact on local business, especially for the well established recreational and tourism oriented businesses of the northern lakes area.

Limits on future positive economic growth. Bringing in a "dirty" industry, such as a fuel refinery, will diminish Milford's future chances of attracting "clean" industries to our town. 

The information contained on this page is taken from sources which we believe to be reliable, such as the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, various state universities, and various news agencies. Last updated November 27, 2006.

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