Another Hearing Slated For Proposed Ethanol Plant

SANTA FE, N.M.(AP) – A proposal to build an ethanol plant on the edge of Clovis ran into a stumbling block Monday when the state Environmental Improvement Board ordered another hearing.

The EIB voted 4-1 to order the state Environment Department to hold a hearing within 60 days to take any new evidence on whether ConAgra Trade Group should be allowed to build the plant.

EIB members said they were concerned that notices to Clovis residents sent out before earlier hearings were misleading. The notices describe the plant’s location as three miles west of Clovis, although it’s right on the edge of the city.

The Environment Department had approved a permit for construction, but local citizens groups appealed to the EIB.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)