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FAIRMONT, MINN. -- Buffalo Lake Energy had a problem.

Earlier this year, the company feared that its plan to build a large ethanol plant in this slowly shrinking prairie town was in danger of getting derailed by the state's environmental rules.

Help came fast.

Sheryl Corrigan, then the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) sent the company a letter it could show to financial backers saying that the agency, which enforces environmental statutes, intended to issue permits for the plant by May 24.

Though she included some generic cautions about potential delays, Corrigan didn't mention concerns held by the agency's staff about errors and omissions in the company's paperwork, and she purged details about work still needed to be done.

Corrigan defended the letter as routine, noting that the competition to open ethanol plants is fierce and that states such as Iowa and South Dakota seem to issue permits quicker.

But others say that in the high-stakes rush to cash in on ethanol, national, state and local leaders are kowtowing to King Corn -- even if it means approving plants that are draining nearby wells, tolerating potentially harmful wastewater and permitting plants that burn coal instead of cleaner-burning natural gas.

In Granite Falls, Minn., state officials let a company open an ethanol plant last year knowing that the well water it would need to operate might last only a few years, according to regulators and state records. Now, with the aquifer draining even faster than expected, the company is exploring the use of twice as much water from the Minnesota River so it ostensibly can double production to 100 million gallons of ethanol a year.

In Aberdeen, S.D., a proposal by Glacial Lakes Energy to build a large ethanol plant drew strong opposition from some farmers in the throes of a severe drought. But county commissioners approved a zoning change that enabled several local individuals, including farmer Levern Didreckson, to sell land to the proposed plant's developer.

After the vote, Julie Zastrow of Aberdeen had to be restrained by her boyfriend as Didreckson left the county courthouse. "Traitor!" she shouted.

In late June, Zastrow and about 40 other people from the Aberdeen area filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the project. Glacial Lakes later announced plans to build its plant about 14 miles west of Aberdeen.

In Fairmont, Mike and Gina Borchardt, who live near the Buffalo Lake Energy site, pushed unsuccessfully for an environmental impact study, citing concerns that dust and fumes from the plant would worsen their teenage daughter's asthma and deflate their property value.

Mike Borchardt said Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, told him that she would hold him responsible if the plant failed to get its permit. Rosen acknowledged making the comment, saying she believes Borchardt was retaliating against the ethanol plant because of problems he's had with an adjacent soybean-crushing facility.

The MPCA is taking steps to speed up the time it usually takes ethanol plants to get permits. This spring, Corrigan established a new ethanol team to work with the industry with a " 'We are one' ethic," state records show. The agency also is considering rule changes that could make it easier for plants that do not meet state water-quality standards to get permits.

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said the ethanol industry is using the promise of jobs and energy independence as cover to weaken state environmental laws. "Ethanol is big business, and they've got political clout," said Marty, chairman of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Marty said he was disgusted to learn that Corrigan had written a letter on Buffalo Lake Energy's behalf as her staff complained about the company's proposal. "It's absolutely inappropriate," he said.

But other state officials say the steps they've taken to help the ethanol industry are appropriate and pose no threats to the environment or public health.

"Everything we've done we can back up with data," Corrigan said. "Now, whether folks agree with the interpretation of the data ... is another matter."