Powers warns of possible lawsuit following cancellation of trash-to-ethanol deal

Potential lawsuits are brewing in Lake County's trash-to-ethanol saga, according to a motion by solid waste officials and statements from the developer who had contracted to build and operate the plant.

Lake County officials cancel trash-to-ethanol contract

After four years of failed attempts to get a Lake County trash-to-ethanol plant off the drawing room floor, waste district officials unanimously canceled the contract Thursday with a would-be developer.

Proposed trash-to-ethanol plant runs out of gas

SCHNEIDER | The proposed trash-to-ethanol plant in Schneider apparently has run out of gas, financially speaking.

The power of waste

Two regional facilities produce enough electricity to power several thousand homes, or offset municipal power bills by hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Wasteful endeavors?

Some officials throughout the country say they have learned the grass isn't always greener when it comes to alternative methods of disposing of municipal garbage.

Not your grandfather's landfills

With at least 20 years of existing capacity at Northwest Indiana landfills -- and room for expansion well beyond that -- there is no need to hit the panic button.

Effort to kill trash-to-ethanol contract fails

A contingent of Lake County Republicans failed in an attempt to kill the controversial trash-to-ethanol contract Thursday, just shy of the deal's four-year anniversary.

Scheub to GOP: Meeting cancellation not a dodge of trash-to-ethanol issue

Politics had nothing — and everything — to do with last week's cancellation of a county solid waste board meeting, Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub said Monday.

Trash-to-ethanol debate pauses until after election

Some Lake County Republican officials are crying foul over the cancellation of last week's solid waste district meeting, dubbing it a possible political ploy to push a discussion past the general election.

Trash-to-ethanol saga marked by constant change, missed deadlines

With new owners possibly on the horizon for the proposed Schneider trash-to-ethanol plant, some Lake County waste officials say it is the perpetuation of a four-year-old game of musical chairs.

Potential legal issues abound in trash-to-ethanol contract

Some Lake County solid waste officials said they are just as concerned by the legal risks of preserving the controversial trash-to-ethanol contract as the litigation that could result from canceling it.

Kill the trash-to-ethanol contract or grant another in a long line of extensions?

Lake County solid waste officials have an opportunity Thursday night either to stand firm on a deadline for a would-be trash-to-ethanol developer to secure financing or grant yet another in a long line of extensions.

Critics: Plant deal, not apology, needed

More than two months after would-be trash-to-ethanol developer Earl Powers walked out on a meeting with Lake County solid waste officials, he has issued a letter of apology.

Powers has up to 90 more days to show trash-to-ethanol viability

Lake County's more than 3-year trash-to-ethanol saga was extended for at least another 30 and as many as 90 days Thursday after waste officials gave a developer more time to prove the venture viable.

1,247 days into trash-to-ethanol contract, little to show for it

Lake County Solid Waste Management District Board meets at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lake County Government Complex in Crown Point to discuss the future of the 1,247-day-old trash-to-ethanol contract, The Times provides a look at the time and some of the events that have come to pass.A timeline…

Scheub touts trash-to-ethanol on eve of discussions

On the eve of discussions that could decide the fate of Lake County's trash-to-ethanol contract, the plan's biggest political supporter touted the millions in revenue and hundreds of jobs he said the plan would create.

Most Lake communities claim no commitment to trash-to-ethanol

Municipal support for Lake County's trash-to-ethanol proposal does not appear as strong as proponents of the project have claimed, a Times survey of city and town leaders shows.

EDITORIAL: Unplug Powers' dreams of trash-to-ethanol riches

Earl Powers is asking for more time to show he has the financial wherewithal and other arrangements in place for the proposed trash-to-ethanol plant. The Lake County Solid Waste Management District board should show the courage to say no.

EDITORIAL: Agency has wasted time, wasted money

The Lake County Solid Waste Management District's board seems determined to change directions -- finally -- and put the trash-to-ethanol proposal in the trash where it belongs.

Town hopes for trash-to-ethanol plant, but frustrations mount

SCHNEIDER | What had been all excitement regarding a possible economic boon for this south Lake County town is turning into some frustration and deflated spirits, according to one Schneider official.