A trial is going to be held in March to determine whether a big ethanol plant can be built in southwest Missouri’s Webster County. A judge has refused to dismiss a petition for a temporary restraining order filed by opponents of the plant. Opponents say Gulfstream Bioflex Energy will deplete underground water supplies if it builds the plant. Hydrologists have offered competing expertise on the issue. The plant would use 880-gallons of water a minute.
