SAN PIERRE — A controversial project in Starke County has been suspended. BioEnergy Development Company, headquartered near Indianapolis, wanted to build an ethanol plant near San Pierre.

The company says the economy is to blame for the change in plans. Banks are simply not loaning the money needed to fund projects like these.

While company officials are disappointed, hundreds of others are breathing a sigh of relief.

“Dad had farmed here with his father," Dawn Danford told WSBT News.
For the first time in 80 years, Danford says the family farm was in jeopardy.

Last November, the county approved a plan to allow BioEnergy to build the 40-acre ethanol plant less than a quarter of a mile away from Danford’s home.

“My kids play right here," she said.

And she wasn’t the only one concerned.

Danford added, “We had over 500 signatures against this just a couple days after it was announced.”

Members of the community then formed Kankakee Valley Stop the Ethanol Plant. This group voiced its concerns about the plant's potential environmental impact.

“It’s very dangerous. And there are specific areas in the county or in other parts of other counties where they’re designed to control those kind of problems,” said Danford.

But Danford can forget about those problems — at least for now. The company is putting the project on hold.

BioEnergy Development Company President Rob Swain blames the strained credit market.

“When you see the Dow Industrials falling over a third in the past year and banks not wanting to loan to other banks right now, as you are seeing, it really makes it tough to do any capital projects," he explained.

But Swain isn't giving up hope. He's says when the economy picks up, he plans to move forward with the project — a project that he believes will help the area.

“We were hoping to bring some jobs to the area. We would have doubled the tax revenue for that township via property taxes," he said.

Danford sees it differently. It's about protecting a piece of history for her children.

“They’re going to be here a long time and they have plans of trying to stay on the farm," she said. "Who knows what that will be? But we wanted that opportunity to be there for them."

The group that opposes the project filed a lawsuit against the company. The suit claims it would impact the public health and safety of the community.

If the company decided to move forward with the project, it would need to reapply for the permit.