The count is now at two south-metro townships that have officially rejected plans for ethanol plants this year.

In a vote taken Tuesday night, the Hampton Township board nixed a proposal to build an ethanol plant north of County Road 86 and half a mile west of Hwy. 56, about 10 miles southeast of Farmington.

Cannon River Clean Fuels, a company composed mostly of local farmers and investors, had proposed a plant that would produce about 40 million gallons of ethanol using 15 million bushels of corn from surrounding farms, said company board chair Lynnea Sjoquist.

The company, formed in April 2006, approached Hampton Township this spring, organizing a tour of a Boyceville, Wis., plant for local officials and residents and presenting plans at an informational meeting and a public hearing this summer.

"We're disappointed with the decision," said Sjoquist, a Cannon Falls resident. "We had thought that the board and the planning commission had been impressed with the Boyceville tour, so we were hoping the decision would go the other direction."

The Wisconsin plant did impress officials such as town board member Donna Otto. "It didn't smell, and it was well run." Still, she added, "I said I would vote for whatever the majority of the people wanted."

Local opinion has been split on the proposal, with many residents worrying, for example, that the plant would deplete the water supply and generate too much traffic. Others have welcomed the proposal as a way to give local farmers a boost.

Hampton's vote comes two months after the Bridgewater Township board passed a land-use plan and zoning ordinances that excluded a proposal for an ethanol plant in the township southwest of Northfield. The company proposing the plant, Advanced BioEnergy, has since challenged the decision in Rice County District Court. Cannon River Clean Fuels hasn't made a decision about how to proceed, Sjoquist said. The company had picked out half a dozen possible plant locations, she said, including sites in Cannon Falls and western Wisconsin, but "they aren't really the No. 1 site."

Sarah Lemagie • 612-673-7557

Sarah Lemagie • slemagie@startribune.com