Tag: anaerobic digesters

Fremont Anaerobic Digester: Public Hearing Scheduled for November 20

Published on November 6th, 2024 by - Blog Posts

On Wednesday, November 20 at 6:00pm, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will hold an in-person public hearing on the proposed Groundwater Discharge Permit for the Fremont Digester, at the request of FLOW and the coalition of residents and organizations working to strengthen environmental protections.

What is the Fremont Digester?

The Fremont anaerobic digester is a huge facility that uses bacteria to decompose organic waste (such as commercial food waste and factory farm sewage) and generate biogas. The byproduct of this process is a concentrated sludge called “digestate.” The digestate – often full of heavy metals and biological hazards – is held in massive cesspits, then sprayed on fields as “fertilizer.” Neighbors are assaulted by noxious, intolerable odors, and the digestate runs off of overloaded fields and into lakes, streams, groundwater – and residential wells.

What is a groundwater discharge permit?

A permit would give the operator (Generate Upcycle) legal authorization to dispose of its wastewater to the ground or groundwater. The permit governs the manner in which wastewater is pre-treated and released into our environment.

In order to continue operating, Generate Upcycle must secure a groundwater discharge permit from EGLE – a necessity that the company has been evading and delaying for years. Unfortunately, EGLE has now proposed a permit that does not go far enough to protect the surrounding watershed, farmland, and community.

That’s why earlier this year, the FLOW Coalition submitted public comments to EGLE, detailing our concerns. We made specific recommendations to the agency regarding field application of digestate, response to citizen odor complaints, and pre-treatment of digestate to remove chemicals.

How can I attend the meeting?

It’s important to make your voice heard in defense of our natural resources and drinking water. The meeting is open to the public, and will be held at the Fremont Area District Library. If you’d like to submit a comment, you can do so here: https://mienviro.michigan.gov/ncore/external/publicnotice/info/1908290194134435184/comments

Policy Brief: The hidden environmental and economic costs of anaerobic digesters and biogas

Published on July 22nd, 2024 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

 

Policy Brief: Impacts of Anaerobic Digesters (PDF)

 

Anaerobic digesters are facilities that decompose organic waste, separating biogas from solids and liquids, called “digestate.” Biogas can be used on-site or processed into purified pipeline-grade biomethane for electricity or transportation. On confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), a biodigester may be a cover on a cesspit. After the methane is captured, CAFO operators dump untreated digestate full of heavy metals and biological hazards like thermotolerant E.coli onto farm fields as “fertilizer.”

In this policy brief from FLOW, we break down the unintended environmental and economic impacts of anaerobic digesters, and the hidden costs of biogas production. We also make recommendations for how the state of Michigan should regulate digesters to protect our groundwater, and ultimately, the Great Lakes.