By Laura Horihan
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

EYOTA -- Olmsted District Judge Joseph Chase received motions for summary judgment Wednesday in a lawsuit against the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and MinnErgy LLC, which has proposed to build an ethanol plant near Eyota.

The case involves three conservation groups and more than two dozen Olmsted County residents who are seeking a judgment to force the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and MinnErgy LLC to complete an Environmental Impact Statement. Both the MPCA and MinnErgy are named plaintiffs.

The MPCA Citizen's Board decided last November that an EIS wouldn't be needed.

The group fears that the proposed ethanol facility will negatively affect groundwater, surface water and the air.

According to a memorandum filed Oct. 26, the citizens have "pointed to a combination of danger signals in the Environmental Assessment Worksheet process, all of which suggest that the MPCA Citizen's Board failed to engage in reasoned decision-making."

The MPCA has argued that the court should affirm the agency decision based upon the deferential standard of review afforded to agencies in Minnesota.

Attorneys for both sides made oral arguments during the 2-hour hearing.

The judge decided to take the matter under advisement for the next 90 days, and then will rule on whether to uphold the MPCA's decision or remand it for further studies.

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