Nov. 29--LENOX -- A $30 million project to renovate the Niagara and Centennial mills into a biodiesel production plant will be the subject of a public informational meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, at Lenox Town Hall.

Owners of the project, Interstate Biodiesel, hope to have completed the permitting process by the end of the coming winter, begin refitting the mills in the spring, and start fuel production in the late fall of 2010.

The proposed plant would be capable of producing 15 million gallons per year. The feedstock, pretreated in Worcester and Albany areas from corn oil and soy bean oil, will be brought in by rail.

According to Michelle Henderson, one of four principals of Interstate Biodiesel, no oils, greases or fats will be shipped in, only the pretreated feedstock. Once at the new plant, the feedstock will be treated with methane to produce the biodiesel, and shipped out on rail. The process will be completed in a closed-loop system, with the used methane captured for re-use.

"I'm anxious to see a good reuse of those old mills, so it's good to see a viable entity put a plan together," said Greg Federspiel, Lenox Town Manager.

"Hopefully it will be a good match for us -- we need to get the mills back in action."

Both mills are former paper producers, two of dozens that ceased operating in Western Massachusetts during the past 50 years.

The Niagara Mill was opened in 1905, closing in 2008. The Centennial Mill opened

in 1876 and closed in 1974.

The proposed site is on the banks of the Housatonic River, and is included in a recent Area of Critical Environmental Concern designation.

Tim Gray, the Housatonic River Keeper and director of the Housatonic River Initiative, said he is aware of the proposal, but doesn't know many details yet.

"Some of the neighbors that live near the plant are concerned with safety, and as long as [Interstate Biodiesel] can prove the plant will be safe, they should be okay," Gray said. "And we are certainly not opposed to biodiesel by any means, but we have to be careful when anything is done near the flood plain of the river."

In the Environmental Notification Form that Interstate Diesel filed with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, it is noted that "one corner wall of the 1906 Niagara Mill building is within the 100- year flood zone ... no other 100-year flood zone areas will be affected." The report also states that one "tank farm" for the feed stock will be set up within the Niagara Mill footprint, and the finished biodiesel fuel product will be located in the Centennial Mill footprint. Both will be located within concrete dike systems.

The report quotes from a letter issued by Ian Bowles, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs: "I believe that the development of facilities to manufacture clean and non-fossil based fuel are man-ifestly in the public interest, as such facilities will lower greenhouse gas emissions and help make Massachusetts a center of clean energy technology," Bowles wrote.

He continued by saying the Lenox site "is a promising location for this facility as the site is a discontinued paper mill and therefore represents a creative re-use of property."

Bowles writes that he declined to exclude the site from the ACEC, but noted that although it is within the area of critical environmental concern, it should not be overly burdened in the state's permitting process.

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