ALEXANDRIA — Roger Bennett says living next to the Poet ethanol plant is like having a neighbor who mows his lawn every second of every day.

The Poet biorefining plant, which opened in April, turns corn into ethanol to be used as fuel. The ethanol-making process includes the grinding of corn and a process similar to that used to distill alcohol.

Bennett lives on Orchard Lane in Alexandria, one and one-half miles from the Poet biorefining plant, but said the sound of the manufacturing facility reaches all the way into his home.

He is not alone.

Bill and Mary Remington live less than a mile from Poet and said the sound of the corn grinder running resembles that of a lawn mower, one that never shuts off. “It’s irritating to everyone,” Bill Remington said.

Remington said the noise was affecting not only his family and that of Roger Bennett, but every neighbor of the plant.

“You could start down here on 1400 and come down this road and interview everybody,” Remington said. “They hate that plant. They hate it for the noise.”

Despite complaints about the noise level of the plant, Poet plant manager Dave Hudak said the company was doing nothing wrong.

“Our equipment is operating correctly,” Hudak said. “The noise levels are within nationally and locally recognized acceptable levels for sound.”

Nathan Schock of Poet said the sound levels had been tested and approved.

“Our goal at Poet is to be good neighbors to the people who live near our 23 production facilities,” he said.

“Shortly after Poet Biorefining Alexandria started operating, we commissioned an independent study of the noise levels and found that at all edges of the property the level of noise was lower than the normally accepted standard of 50 decibels. By comparison, a regular conversation 3 to 5 feet away is 60 to 70 decibels and a lawn mower is more than 100. If someone finds that level of noise distracting, we apologize. We’d also like to thank the many people who have welcomed this plant to the area and pledge to continue being the best neighbor possible.”

Hudak said there was no plan to attempt to quell the sound of the plant.

“We are operating within acceptable noise levels,” Hudak said, “so there’s no reason for us to explore other options.”

State guidelines mean little to Bennett and Remington, who say the sound is annoying, no matter how legal it may be.