Commission votes down proposed biofuel facility in south Augusta

Augusta commissioners on Tuesday unanimously denied a motion that would’ve allowed construction and operation of a renewable energy (biofuel) facility in south Augusta.

“The motion was denied in full by all 10 commissioners," Commissioner Tony Lewis said on Wednesday. “They (Renovation Solutions LLC) cannot come before the commission with said proposed project for one year. They do have the option of locating a suitable location anywhere else and bring that before the commission before the year.”

Prior to the commission meeting, the city Environmental Services committee voted 3-1 to oppose issuing a letter of consistency for the project.

In June, Renovation Solutions LLC submitted documentation stating that the proposed waste to energy (biofuel) production operation would potentially improve the environment, according to public records. The sole purpose of the facility would have been to convert organic and biomass waste into renewable natural or compressed gas.

Lewis said his reason for voting against the proposed biofuel facility project was due to lack of information.

“There were a number of environmental concerns,” said Lewis. “I would’ve preferred those that were proposing to bring this project to Augusta offer more information on other projects in locations whether in or out of the country, to offer input on how those projects are doing in those communities. In the end, they came to us without enough information.”

Lewis said he’s on board with looking at renewable resources as an option for the future.

“We're trying to get away from using fossil fuels,” said Lewis. “Whatever we can do to make less of an impact on the environment I’m all for it. But it has to be in a manner which is going to be conducive to folks that are living in said industries. It may be a great project, but the place where they were trying to put it wasn’t conducive to that particular operation."

The desired location for the facility was at 1680 Dixon Airline Rd. Spirit Creek Baptist Church is located at 1783 Dixon Airline Rd.

Rev. Ellis Godbee Jr., senior pastor of Spirit Creek Baptist Church, said there were still some questions left unanswered.

“None of them (Renovation Solution representatives) have experience in operating a plant like this,” said Godbee. “... So there was no history of how this type of plant performs.”

When asked about major concerns regarding the project, Godbee said, “We were very concerned about the risk of this plant to human health and safety and also the risks to the environment.”

A look back at biofuel project: 'We don't want this here': South Augusta residents oppose proposal for biofuel facility

Godbee said he’s glad that city officials voted the project down.

“We stood in opposition from the very beginning,” said Godbee. “Pertaining to this project the risks outweigh the benefits. Why do we have to be the guinea pig? We're very grateful, very thankful because the commission listens to their constituents. They understood what our complaints were, and agreed.”

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Funding Partners.

Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on Twitter: @EricaVanBuren32.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: South Augusta historical Black church win fight against biofuel facility