Proponents of an ethanol plant on the site of the old Molson brewery would be forgiven for being a little glum about recent developments.

The industry has been getting some less-than-favourable publicity lately, a major reversal of fortune for a product heavily touted as a clean-energy source.

The environment ministry is in Collingwood with some high-tech equipment sniffing out what substances from an ethanol plant in that town are airborne, and if the plant has abided by the conditions of its ministry-supplied Certificate of Approval.

The town’s mayor, Chris Carrier, calls the smell from the plant “putrid.” In what can only be described as an extreme move, the town is turning to the courts to try to shut it down.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has publicly backed away from his once solid support of ethanol production. Currently, gas sold in Ontario must contain at least five-per-cent ethanol; by 2010 that number was to rise to 10 per cent. The premier has indicated that plan is up for reconsideration.

Even the environmental benefits of ethanol production are being downplayed, with the rise in the price of corn being linked to the worldwide spike in food prices, and its production criticized as a source of emissions.

Now, the ministry has sidelined Northern Ethanol’s application, pending completion of the City of Barrie’s review on appropriate uses for its industrial land.

The review was launched late last year as council passed an interim-control bylaw that stalled site-plan work for the proposed ethanol plant. The basic intent of the review is to determine if ethanol production is an appropriate use on land zoned for industrial purposes.

The ministry has indicated it won’t proceed with the application until the review is completed, and will seek input from the municipality regarding the application.

That would appear to place the ball firmly in Barrie’s court if the review concludes ethanol is not an appropriate use, and if council subsequently endorses the review.

Much has changed since Northern Ethanol was welcomed to Barrie. The area’s future as a retail hub has been irrevocably established – throw in a large residential component and an ethanol plant at the proposed location becomes increasingly out of place.

The whole exercise also points to the need to regularly update zoning conditions and restrictions.

Once, an ethanol plant on the edge of town, which is where the brewery once was, may have made sense (it would certainly have caused less concern). But that site is now in the middle of Barrie, in a growing retail and residential zone. The conditions have changed.