Midwest Renewables of Iowa Falls would like to build a $98 million facility that could create more than 40 jobs and produce up to 100 million gallons of ethanol annually.

Plans call for the plant to be built on about 88 acres one-half mile east of Fairbank. Buchanan County supervisors approved zoning changes for the project Monday and Fayette officials will consider the same beginning tonight.

Economic development boosters in both counties maintain the plant will generate millions of dollars of economic activity. Others are raising concerns it might also create image and environmental problems.

Midwest Renewables' chief executive officer, Bruce Rastetter, said the organization hopes to break ground this month. If everything goes according to schedule, the plant would be operational by February 2006.

"We're excited about the project, but there are significant details to work out," Rastetter said.

Fayette and Buchanan county economic development agencies are assisting Midwest Renewables with applications for state and local tax incentives.

The agencies also collaborated on an economic impact study, which shows a $189 million ripple effect on the surrounding economy.

Rastetter said the plant would likely start with 46 employees with an average wage of about $20 per hour. It would also purchase about 32 million bushels of corn each year from area farmers.

The site's proximity to a highway, railroad line and natural gas pipeline make it appealing, Rastetter said, though zoning issues and agreements are pending with D & W Railroad, which is owned by Transco Railway Products of Oelwein.

Several new homes are slated to be built west of the area, and the subdivision's developer, Ron Woods, said industrial zoning could hinder the city's expansion. In response, Buchanan supervisors stipulated the industrial zoning applied only for the ethanol plant.

Fairbank Mayor Maurice Welsh said city officials had some concerns about increased traffic and potential noise and odor problems. However, he said he is now satisfied economic benefits will outweigh any annoyances.

Ethanol plants elsewhere in the Midwest have drawn complaints and lawsuits over noise and emissions. In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency found many were emitting far more air pollution than previously believed. Since then, federal rules prompted some ethanol plants to install odor-reducing technologies.

Rastetter said the proposed Fairbank plant would use thermal oxidizers -- controls that burn harmful ozone gas before it escapes.

"This certainly helps with the odors," said Bill Peterson, an environmental engineer in the EPA's regional air quality office. "It's not going to eliminate them, but it's certainly going to reduce them."

In addition to air pollution, the plants typically require water discharge permits. The proposed facility would expel several thousand gallons of water daily into the Wapsipinicon River.

"We like ethanol. We like alternative fuels," said Rich Leopold, executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council. But, "the operations themselves are not benign."