Citing new regulation, Fremont biodigester threatens closure
FREMONT, Mich. (WOOD) — The biodigester in Fremont could close at the end of the year because new state regulations will make it too difficult to operate, the owner says.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy says it is willing to work with the Fremont Regional Digester on a solution. Bill Caesar, the president of Generate Upcycle, which owns the biodigester, agreed at a virtual press conference Thursday that a solution is possible.
“I think there is a solution out there,” Caesar said. “I would like to see a rational regulatory structure put in place. Upcycle has no issues with regulation. We think it is part and parcel to being a member of the community and doing things the right way.”
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At issue, he said, are new regulations about how one of the biodigester’s products can be used.
The site takes organic food waste from places like the Gerber baby food factory and extracts energy. One product it creates is digestate, which is a material that can be used as fertilizer. The company says EGLE’s water division has taken over regulation of the digestate instead of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which authorized its current permit.
“The new approach will require extensive changes in how, when and where we apply digestate, as well as forcing the farmer partners whose land we use to essentially become our subcontractors,” Caesar said. “Farmers who choose to use our liquid fertilizer on their fields would lose the ability to make their own agronomic decisions.”
The company says EGLE is trying to limit the amount of digestate that is applied to farm fields to a greater extent.
“Not only are the proposed changes to our permit prohibitively expensive because huge portions of the fields we currently use would be off limits, but these regulations are also operationally impossible for us to comply with,” Caesar said.
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In a letter sent to the company (PDF), EGLE Director Phillip Roos wrote the material does not appear to meet the standards to qualify as a fertilizer.
“…It was discussed that the digestate does not contain nutrient value at the application rate required to meet required standards,” Roos wrote.
The department says it is willing to work on a solution and will allow the company to keep operating under its permit through March 21 and would consider extending that to June 30.
“…We are committed to continuing to collaborate with you and your company to achieve a reasonable and defensible outcome,” Roos’ letter said. “Michigan’s citizens, especially those that rely on groundwater resources as their source of drinking water, deserve no less of either of our organizations.”
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