The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has given its preliminary approval for a proposed ethanol plant to be built northeast of Princeton.

The proposed Algonquian ethanol plant, to be built by ITEC Refining and Marketing of Barrington, will not be a major new source of air emission, the early Illinois EPA ruling stated. Based on its review of the project application, the Illinois EPA has also made the preliminary determination the Algonquian project is entitled to a construction permit.

As part of the EPA approval-process, the EPA will accept comments from the public concerning the Algonquian ethanol plant before making a final decision. All comments must be posted by midnight May 28 to the EPA. If sufficient interest is expressed in the project, the EPA may schedule a public hearing.

In January 2006, ITEC Refining and Marketing Co. Ltd., headquartered in Barrington, announced plans to build the Algonquian Ethanol Plant LLC on an 85-acre site located east of Route 34 and south of Interstate 80.

On Wednesday, ITEC Refining and Marketing President and CEO Chet Perry said he’s pleased to get the preliminary approval for the IEPA building permit. He had hoped to receive the building permit for the Princeton plant last November, but the Illinois EPA was extremely backed-up with its application and permit process, Parry said.

“We are very pleased to have finally gotten to this point,” Perry said. “We hope it’s pretty much gung ho from here.”

Perry said he is also hopeful the public hearing period will go smoothly. The public has already asked a lot of questions about the various ethanol plants being built around the state and those questions have been answered, he said.

After the final EPA building permit is issued, the next step will be to apply for building permits from the city of Princeton, Perry said.

Ground-breaking on the Algonquian plant, which had been set for early 2007, is now expected to take place in September or October, Perry said. Construction is expected to take about 18 months, he said.

The Algonquian plant is expected to produce about 108 million gallons of ethanol a year. When in production, the plant is expected to employ about 50 people. The majority of those people will be hired locally, Perry said.

“It’s been a chore to get to this point, but we’re still very pleased and excited with this new project,” Perry said.

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