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Town Board of Schroeppel
EXHIBIT 10.2 Officials in Schroeppel support building of meat-processing facility that could create 300 jobsBy Debra J. Groom / The Post-StandardDecember 28, 2009, 7:35PMSchroeppel, NY -- The Schroeppel town board is supporting the construction of a huge 72,000-cow meat processing and ethanol production facility in the town. The board unanimously voiced its support of the project proposed by Bion Environmental Technologies, a Long Island company planning a complex that includes an ethanol production facility, waste management operation and meat processing plant. The board began talking to Bion officials in September. Bion official Jeff Kapell said his company still has to meet several conditions before the project is a go in Schroeppel. “They (the board) said if you can get it passed through all the environmental hurdles and if you can get the financing, if you can do all of that we will welcome the project,” Kapell said. “We have not looked at specific sites yet and this project is very complex — there’s a tremendous amount of coordination that goes into it. Schroeppel officials said they would like to see the economic activity in their town.” The project could bring 300-plus jobs to the area. Some of the issues that would have to be reviewed through the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) are traffic, odor and water. Bion’s proposed project entails a closed-loop operation that uses all the waste it makes, thereby eliminating any air or water pollution. Kapell said it would make ethanol, use animal waste to make enough energy to power its ethanol plant, use ethanol waste to feed the cattle and then slaughter and package the beef to sell for consumption. It also has a small carbon footprint because corn is brought here on ships instead of trucks and meat processed here would be sold nearby instead of being trucked across the country. Here’s how the operation would work: Corn from the Midwest would be shipped by ship or barge to the Port of Oswego. Local corn also could be used, Kapell said. The corn would be used to make ethanol. About 50 million gallons of ethanol would be made in a year, Kapell said. It would be sold to the transportation market. The ethanol waste, called distillery waste, would be fed to the 72,000 cows housed in closed barns on the site. The cow manure would be gathered several times a day and put through a process devised by Bion that extracts ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorous and other harmful chemicals. The remainder will be turned into cellulose, and used as a supplementary power in the ethanol plant. Slaughtered cows would be processed into various cuts and sold to food service, commercial establishments or retail. Kapell said this would allow the 70 million to 80 million people living in the Northeast to get beef and beef products from nearby instead of having beef shipped in from the Midwest. Bion officials also have met with representatives of the governor’s office and state legislators’ offices about the project. Bion would need about 1,000 to 1,200 acres, although it doesn’t all have to be in one area, Kapell said. The company would also grow crops on land to be used as a buffer area between its sites and neighboring farms. |
BION ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Bion Announces Community Support of Upstate NY
Integrated Beef Finishing and Biofuel Project
December 14, 2009. New York, New York. Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: BNET) announced today that it has received the unanimous support of the Schroeppel, NY Town Board for the development of a large scale integrated beef cattle closed-loop project ('Project'). The Project's initial phase will include finishing facilities for 72,000 head of beef cattle, ethanol production and an associated beef processing plant.
On December 10, the Town Board of Schroeppel, located in Oswego County, voted to approve a resolution that supports Bion's Project and "urges other federal, state, and local officials to work cooperatively towards the development of the Bion Project." Paul Casler, Supervisor for the Town of Schroeppel, stated, "I look forward to working with Bion. It is an exciting project for Central New York and we're very happy to welcome Bion to the Town
of Schroeppel."
Bion has performed extensive studies over the past several years to establish the general economics and feasibility of this upstate NY project. The decision to locate the Project in Oswego County was based on multiple factors including strong support of the Schroeppel community, presence of a major port with the facilities and experience to handle bulk corn imports and beef and ethanol export shipments, existing rail capacities linking the port with
potential project sites and a regional agricultural infrastructure that would be favorably impacted in meeting the long-term input requirements of the Project.
When completed, Bion's 72,000 head integrated and closed-loop beef cattle project will be the largest individual cattle livestock facility east of the Mississippi River. It will also be a world-wide model for environmental sustainability. Implementation of Bion's demonstrated and patented comprehensive waste treatment technology will result in the Project's finishing facilities exhibiting the smallest per head environmental footprint
of any large livestock operation in the world. The Project's closed-loop architecture is intended to produce corn-based ethanol with a net energy balance at levels projected for future cellulosic ethanol (if and when a commercial cellulosic ethanol process can be developed and economically implemented). Bion's technology platform will produce renewable energy from livestock waste at a significantly greater per head rate than energy generated via the anaerobic digestion installations presently deployed in the
livestock industry.
The Project will create a long-term regional market for cropped farm inputs that will return approximately 25,000 acres of under-utilized or previously abandoned farmland to full production in the region. The Project's low environmental footprint will enable this large-scale livestock facility to co-exist within 300 miles of markets with 50 million people creating the opportunity for local branding based upon environmental attributes. Its scale will be the basis for both environmental and economic sustainability
rather than being a source of environmental concern. This Project is based on Bion's proprietary, patented waste treatment technology and its integration into its closed loop integrated livestock project platform.
Local and regional economic impact from the Project is estimated to produce the addition of approximately 600 jobs to the Oswego County regional economy. These benefits will be reaped by the region in large part due to the foresight of the Town of Schroeppel and its community leadership who have invited Bion into their community after extensive review. The Town of Schroeppel's invitation requires that Bion meet the highest environmental standards ever required of any livestock facility in the United States which
is possible solely due to implementation of Bion's patented and demonstrated waste treatment technology to handle to livestock wastestreams and produce renewable energy for use in the integrated facilities.
Bion now enters the active 'pre-development/pre-construction phase' for this upstate New York Project, a process anticipated to take up to two years. This phase will include: a) extensive work with state and local economic development representatives to maximize the Project's benefits to both the community and Bion, b) evaluation of suitable sites leading to options and ultimately acquisition of land for the Project, c) development of site- specific studies and reports demonstrating the economic and environmental viability of the proposed operations as the basis for permitting and financing, d) work with local, county and state officials to ensure compliance with stringent environmental standards, e) development of appropriate 'partnering' relationships for the Project, and f) acquisition of financing for construction.
Jeff Kapell, Bion's VP for Project Development / Renewables, stated, "We are extremely pleased to now be able to move this Project forward based on the solid working relationship that has been established between Bion and the Town of Schroeppel. We look forward to working with the Board to meet that part of the their Resolution calling for 'adherence to all pertinent federal,
state, and local laws, rules, and regulations including those related to land use control and planning and environmental protection.' Bion's unique technology and expertise are what make this Project viable and will ultimately result in upstate New York becoming the world leader in environmentally sustainable livestock production."
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About Bion: Bion's technology provides the only comprehensive solution to the environmental impacts of livestock waste, including excess nitrogen and phosphorus, pathogens, and ammonia, greenhouse gases, odors and other emissions. Bion has provided solutions to the agriculture and livestock industry since 1990, with 30 first-generation systems installed through 2003.
Bion's next-generation technology will be utilized in both its Integrated Projects and environmental retrofit/remediation business segments. It is being deployed at Kreider Farms to generate nutrient credits as part of Pennsylvania's efforts to reduce excess nutrients in accordance with their obligations under the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy and will be deployed as the basis for Bion's Integrated Projects. In addition to providing environmental treatment, Bion's systems recover cellulosic biomass from the
waste streams to produce renewable energy. Bion's patented technology is scalable, proven and quickly gaining acceptance by regulatory agencies and other stakeholders as an effective solution to the environmental issues associated with concentrated livestock waste. For more information, see Bion's website: www.biontech.com.
This material includes forward-looking statements based on management's current reasonable business expectations. In this document, the word 'potential', 'will', 'proposed', 'anticipates', 'projects' and similar expressions identify certain forward-looking statements. These statements are made in reliance on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Section 27A of the Securities act of 1933, as amended. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from
expected outcomes.
Contact information:
Mark A. Smith Craig Scott
President Vice President-Capital Markets/IR
719-256-5329 303-843-6191 direct
mas@biontech.com cscott@biontech.com
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