CLEARFIELD – Before the Lawrence Township Supervisors make a decision about a proposed zoning change on Leonard Street, they want to hear from the public.
The zoning change would be for the proposed BioEnergy International LLC ethanol plant. BioEnergy has a real estate option agreement with the county, who owns the undeveloped land on Leonard Street. BioEnergy plans to build an ethanol plant which will be a 108 million gallon per year corn ethanol production facility. The other will be a national demonstration plant for using agricultural waste and other materials to produce ethanol. Both plants in the estimated $250 million project are expected to be on the same site.
According to a previous GantDaily story, it is estimated that the ethanol producer will create more than 50 permanent highly skilled jobs with about 15 jobs created in their demonstration plant. Another 100 jobs could be created as spin-offs to the ethanol plant. Roughly 200 to 250 people will be needed for constructing the plant, which could begin by late fall.
Currently the land being looked at is zoned as residential suburban. It would need to be changed to industrial-limited for purposes of the ethanol plant and demonstration plant.
The meeting will be held on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Mill Road Social Hall. Members of the township zoning board, supervisors and other officials are expected to be in attendance. For more details contact the Lawrence Township Supervisors at 765-4055.
The supervisors said that a number of steps would still need to be taken after this meeting before any zoning change could be made.