Protecting the Environment
Providing Renewable Energy
SUSTAINABILITY SUCCESS
in Mead, Nebraska

/d/iapBo
November 2006
EPA Publication No.: 330-F-06-004
EPA Site Team
Scott Marquess,
Remedial Project
Manager
marquess.scott@epa.gov
(913) 551-7131
Alyse Stoy,
Site Attorney
stoy.alyse@epa.gov
(913) 551-7826
Debbie Kring,
Community Involvement
Coordinator
kring.debbie@epa.gov
(913) 551-7725

ER3 Initiative
The ER3 Initiative is

comprised of three

interrelated

components:
1)
Identifying and

delivering

enforcement and

other related

incentives to

developers of

contaminated land

to encourage

sustainable

redevelopment;
2)
Identifying and

delivering

sustainable

development

principles and

practices through a

public/private

partnership

network; and
3)
Identifying and

delivering outreach

and educational

opportunities on

the initiative and

sustainable

development.
Background
Military munitions were assembled by the U.S. Army at the 17,000 acre Nebraska
Ordnance Plant Superfund Site during World War II and the Korean War. Army operations
included loading, assembling, and packing of munitions at four load-line facilities. The plant
was also used by the Army for munitions storage and ammonium nitrate production.
During the Cold War, an Atlas Missile launch site was also located at the facility, along with
a related operation that cleaned missile parts for other sites in the area using organic
solvents. Under a Superfund agreement signed by the U.S. Department of Defense, EPA,
and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
is conducting extensive remedial work to address explosive and solvent contamination in
the drinking water supply. Beginning in 1962, portions of the plant were sold to various
entities. The E3 Biofuels complex, located on part of the former munitions site, utilizes a
patented, self-sustaining, "closed-loop" process where waste from an existing, onsite
30,000 head beef-cattle feedlot will be used to produce biofuel that will in turn be used to
power an onsite ethanol plant. A byproduct of ethanol production, called wet distillers
grain, will be fed to the cattle, and residual material from the solid waste management
portion of the facility will be separated into liquid and solid biofertilizers. Full-scale
operations are expected to begin in November 2006.
E3 Biofuels Closed-Loop Ethanol Complex
As the United States weans itself from its
dependence on foreign oil, new and
sustainable energy sources are needed.
Yet, the concept of sustainability demands
that the production of these energy
sources cannot degrade the environment.
Sustainability success - economic growth,
protection of the environment, and
investment in the needs of people - is
found at the E3 Biofuels, LLC (E3 Biofuels)
complex in Mead, Nebraska. The E3 _	.....	~ .
, . , , ,	Former Mead, Nebraska Ordnance Plant
Biofuels facility at Mead is located on the
former Nebraska Ordnance Plant Site, a former ammunition manufacturing facility which is
being cleaned up under the federal Superfund law. This facility has not only been
recognized by the EPA for its role in developing ethanol as a renewable resource, but it is
also part of EPA's ER3 Initiative. ER3, or Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and
Reuse, is designed to promote the sustainable redevelopment or reuse of once
contaminated sites.

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ER3 Team
Peter Neves
neves.peter@epa.gov
(202) 564-6072
Phil Page
page.phil@epa.gov
(202) 564-4211
Kenneth Schefski
schefski.kenneth@epa.gov
(202) 564-8213

E3 Biofuels


Achievina


Renewable Fuel


Standards


The E3 Biofuels


Mead, Nebraska site


was selected to


announce the EPA's


proposed rules to


meet the Renewable


Fuels Standards


(RFS) required by


the Energy Policy Act


of 2005.


Specifically, EPA


proposes 3.71


percent of all U.S.


gasoline sold next


year be a "renewable


fuel," Currently the


standard is 2.78


percent of all


gasoline sales. The


RFS requires refiners


to use 7.5 billion


gallons of ethanol in


gasoline by the year


2012.


EPA said the new


standards are


expected to reduce


carbon monoxide


emissions from


gasoline-powered


vehicles and


equipment by 1.3


percent to 3.6


percent and


greenhouse gas


emissions by 9


million to 14 million


tons.


The E3 Biofuels


facility at Mead,


Nebraska will have


the capability of


producing 24 million


gallons of ethanol


per year.


Artist Rendering of E3 Biofuels,	Former Military Munitions
Mead Complex	Assembly Plant
Environmentally Responsibility Redevelopment and Reuse
(ER3)
The ER3 Initiative is an EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance program that
recognizes the value of reusing once-contaminated land. It also recognizes the significant
impact that development has on the environment. ER3 provides enforcement and liability
relief incentives to encourage developers of contaminated land to redevelop it in a
sustainable manner. By incorporating sustainable practices and principles into their projects,
developers of contaminated sites can minimize the environmental impact of their project
without sacrificing economic profitability.
At the E3 Biofuels site, EPA Region 7 provided a comfort/status letter and information
regarding certain Superfund liability protections applicable to E3 Biofuels which facilitated the
procurement of a $70 Million loan for the construction of the Mead facility.
For more information on ER3, please visit the Web site at:
http://www.eDa.aov/comDliance/cleanup/redevelop/er3.
Environmental Benefits at E3
Biofuels Mead Complex:
¦	Facility is co-located with an existing feedlot
operation, and takes advantage of slatted floors
for manure capture
¦	Feedlot wastes are recycled and used as energy
rather than land applied, reducing the risk of
manure-related pollution
¦	Use of biogas produced from cattle manure will
provide 95 - 100% of the energy needed to
operate the ethanol plant
¦	Wet distillers grain, a byproduct from the production process of the ethanol plant, will be
recycled as feed for the onsite feedlot which eliminates the need for drying equipment
and associated pollution controls and reduces capital expenditures for the facility
¦	Byproducts of the solid waste treatment system will be turned into biofertilizers
¦	Closed-loop complex eliminates transportation costs of protein co-products to remote
locations
¦	Reduces greenhouse gas emissions over ethanol plants that rely on coal or natural gas
For more information on E3 Biofuels, LLC, please visit the Web site at:
http://wvjw.e3biofuels.com.
E3 Biofuels, Mead Complex

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