Hayne, Kan. ? Residents who live in this unincorporated Seward County hamlet are upset that plans to build an ethanol plant will ruin their quiet way of life.

Despite assurances from Conestoga Energy Partners that its proposed plant would cause little disruption, many residents questioned why the plant had to be built along U.S. 54 near the 50 or 60 homes scattered throughout Hayne.

“The issue is they’re going to put it right across the road from my house, my next-door neighbor’s house,” said Ernie Peitz, a cemetery groundskeeper who moved to Hayne to get away from the “rat race” in Liberal.

During a public hearing last week, Conestoga officials tried to assure several Hayne residents that the plant, which would produce 110 million gallons of ethanol a year, would not upset their way of life.

“We appreciate the concerns, we appreciate the ability to address all the concerns, and we feel that it is an excellent site to put that project in,” said Ed Stahl, the project manager.

Some Hayne residents acknowledge that increasing the use of ethanol would help the local agricultural economy, as well as lessen the country’s dependence on foreign oil. They said they are mostly concerned with the plant’s location.

“Isn’t there a better location to place the plant, away from a residential area?” asked Cindy Hall, who serves on the Seward County Zoning Board and voted against the board’s recommendation in June that the agricultural land where the plant would be located be rezoned for industrial use.

Seward County commissioners were tentatively scheduled to consider a zoning change at a meeting Wednesday.

If it’s approved, Conestoga’s plant would be the largest of several ethanol plants proposed in Kansas, particularly in the southwest area of the state. It would complement a 55-million-gallon complex the Liberal-based firm is building near Garden City and would employ up to 55 people with an annual payroll of $2 million or more.

“I think it’ll be good for Seward County, good for economic development,” said Joyce Hibler, a Seward County commissioner.

Opponents said they worry that trucks using the plant will be a safety hazard, that property values will dip, and that the plant’s water consumption will hurt the water table in an area where most Hayne residents depend on their own wells.

Stahl, the project manager, said the plant will be more than a half-mile from most homes in the area.

Kansas Department of Transportation officials are studying how to modify U.S. 54 at the spot to accommodate the expected flow of 100 trucks per day. And studies show the noise level at the plant typically reaches about 80 decibels, the same as a normal two-person conversation, he said.

The plant would ship as much distiller’s grain as possible while it is still wet, minimizing potential odors. Drying the material, a byproduct that serves as cattle feed, can create odors, but the plant would have a thermal oxidizer to eliminate the smell.

Water for the plant would come from city-operated wells dug with even greater capacity than Conestoga needs, and its location about six miles north of the plant site should minimize any impact on the water table around Hayne, Conestoga officials said.

Hibler said most people attending Wednesday’s meeting seemed satisfied with the answers the Conestoga representatives offered. But for some people, the uncertainty persists.

“It could be a boon; it could destroy the community,” Hayne resident Bonnie Atwell said.