Fremont, Michigan is a rural community in west Michigan’s Newaygo County, about an hour north of Grand Rapids. Since 2012 it has been home to a huge anaerobic digester, owned since 2017 by the Delaware-incorporated company Generate Upcycle, part of multi-billion dollar “clean energy” investment firm Generate Capital.
Anaerobic digesters use 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 (“field application”) as fertilizer.
In addition to creating noxious, intolerable odors, the digestate makes its way through field drains and runoff and into lakes, streams, groundwater – and residential water wells.
Following years of maneuvering by Generate Upcycle and repeated extensions of its outdated, inadequate “Agricultural Use” authorization, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) finally moved to require a more stringent Groundwater Discharge Permit for the facility. Despite the proposed permit’s notable weaknesses, Generate Upcycle chafed at the stricter pollutant limits. EGLE is required by law to protect drinking water sources – including groundwater – by regulating pollutants.
In November 2024, at the request of FLOW and a coalition of Fremont residents and allies, EGLE held a public hearing on the proposed groundwater discharge permit. Community members spoke very movingly about their experiences living near the digester:
“EGLE must allow zero wiggle room for this industry to turn rural Michigan into their dumpster.”
– Kathy Morrison, Fremont resident
Citing the expense and challenge of complying with the stronger environmental standards proposed by EGLE, Generate Upcycle closed the doors of the Fremont digester and is now in the final stages of decommissioning it.
A recent email from EGLE read: “On March 10, 2025, Generate Fremont Digester, LLC requested to withdraw their Groundwater Discharge Permit Application. The draft permit that was placed on public notice will not be issued. Any authorization to discharge from this facility would require a new application describing the expected discharge and issuance of an appropriate permit.”
FLOW is heartened that the community of Fremont and its waters are no longer threatened by the digester’s odors and toxic byproducts (though the impacts of its past operations are likely to linger), and we are inspired by the many community members who bravely made their voices heard. In its comments to EGLE (pdf), the FLOW Coalition made specific recommendations regarding field application locations and conditions; response to citizen odor complaints and odor compliance; pre-treatment of digestate to remove chemicals of emerging concern (CECs), microplastics, PFAS/PFOAS, pathogens, and heavy metals; compliance and enforcement; and more.
Propped up by “green energy” incentives and fed by the waste of factory farms, anaerobic digesters are a burgeoning industry. We call on agencies and lawmakers to figure out how to manage this technology in a way that protects us all.
