BIODIESEL WRITEUP

The following picture and story were taken from the Benson County Farmers Press; Volume 125, Number 32; Wednesday, September 10th, 2008.

The All American Biodiesel plant at York. The second building on the left is the one that burned the early morning hours of August 25. All the equipment in the building was destroyed and acid vapors remaining delayed the investigation by the state fire marshal.

Fire damages biodiesel plantA fire at the All American Biodiesel plant in York the early morning hours of August 25 destroyed one of its four buildings. Apparently a passerby on US 2 saw the flames at about 12:30 a.m. and called in the alarm.

The Leeds Fire Department responded but had difficulty putting out the fire because acid and oil in the materials preparation and final filtration building burned, resulting in acrid smoke which smelled "like burned plastic," said Mayor Randy Silliman. He and his family were sleeping in their house about 200 feet from the burning building when they were awakened by a call from someone who told them the plant was on fire. "It really stunk," said Silliman.

The ND Fire Marshal will investigate the blaze, but hasn't completed the investigation yet because of acid vapors in the area.

Servicemaster of Devils Lake spent two days removing the smell from the Silliman home.Silliman was quite vocal at the time the plant was built, warning that an industrial accident could happen. "I'm a farmer, so I'd like to see these biodiesel plants spring up all over the countryside, but they shouldn't be allowed to be built in residential areas," Silliman said.

However, most of the 22 residents of York were in favor of the plant which was built in the city limits on the east side of York.Also close to the plant are three other homes, the Moller blacksmith shop and fertilizer plant and an elevator. Silliman is worried that fumes from the plant could drift over to the blacksmith shop and be ignited by welding or the forge. On the west side of town are the anhydrous and propane tanks of the Farmers Union Oil Co. The whole town could go boom, and in fact there was an anhydrous leak a few years ago. Silliman said he's seriously considering moving to nearby Leeds.

Silliman has contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the ND Health Department to no avail. "There's no protection for small towns," Silliman laments. "The regulations state these plants can be built 50 feet from a house. When did they write that law, 1890?"

Silliman urges people who live near a plant or proposed plants to check with their insurance companies to make sure they're covered in case of an accident. Some insurance companies do not cover homeowners in nearby industrial accidents.

According to Silliman the plant has been tooling up to produce biodiesel the past few months and has been producing batches of biodiesel, but nothing good enough to go on the market just yet.

The principal owner of the plant, Lee Dirkzwager of rural York, could not be reached for comment. Both his phone and the phone at All American Biodiesel have been disconnected.