'We don't want this here': South Augusta residents oppose proposal for biofuel facility
South Augusta residents and community leaders are rallying to oppose a proposal for the construction of a renewable energy biofuel facility near their homes and a local church.
Rev. Ellis Godbee Jr., senior pastor of Spirit Creek Baptist Church, said a recent town hall on the issue left concerned residents with more questions than answers due to a lack of transparency.
“We had over 100 people in attendance at the town hall,” said Godbee. “They all stood up in opposition to Renovation Solutions coming in and building a biofuel facility near our church.
"We didn't know anything about it. We would have told them up front, ‘No, we don't want this here.' It wasn't done transparently. And it was being done at a speed of pace that these people could get away with trying to put this plant in our community.”
The designated location for the facility is 1680 Dixon Airline Rd. Spirit Creek Baptist Church is located at 1783 Dixon Airline Rd.
Improving the environment?
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 will be to convert organic and biomass waste into renewable natural or compressed gas.
Commissioner Tony Lewis said he understands why residents are concerned about the proposed biofuel facility.
“I worked for the Savannah River Site for 32 years,” said Lewis. “I know a lot about how this process works. There are people that don’t and it scares them when they hear terminology like biofuel. The first thing they think is, ‘What am I going to be subjected to?’
"We’re always looking for innovative ways to reduce our fossil fuel footprint within our community. This is one of the ways to do it.”
To move forward, Lewis said Renovation Solutions must meet the necessary application requirements.
“If they meet all the requirements required by the planning and zoning, engineering and utilities department, they will be treated like any other applicant that wants to do business in Richmond County,” said Lewis. “Upon completing all requirements, they will have to come before the commission.”
Risk vs. reward
“We’re worried about the health and safety of the members of the community,” said Godbee. “We’re also concerned about the environment and how the plant is going to impact the air quality. We already have a lot of heavy industry in the area. We don't want more pollution coming into our community.”
Godbee said the risk for this project outweighs the reward.
“Renovation Solutions talked about potentially adding 20 to 22 jobs,” said Godbee. “The risk of allowing them to come in to do business is not worth the benefit. We’re concerned about the waste products that are going to come from that plant and how it’s going to be disposed of. ... We're worried about how all of this is going to impact our worship services.”
Godbee said this facility will negatively impact an already at-risk community.
“We're worried about our community that's already at high risk for health concerns like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),” he said. “We have a lot of war veterans in our community, such as myself. I'm a disabled war veteran. We have about 15 disabled war veterans that have already been exposed to toxic waste in the military, such as myself. And we don't want additional waste exposure.”
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Off the menu
Gloria Ricks, president of Mt. Zion Community Outreach and member of the south Augusta community agrees that the biofuel facility will have a negative impact on the community.
Mt. Zion Community Outreach is an Augusta nonprofit dedicated to educating marginalized communities about the effects of climate change.
“This community is already inundated with industry,” said Ricks. “The Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) community is already suffering from health-related issues. It’s important for us all to have a seat at the table. I believe that if you’re not at the table when these decisions and policies are being made then you’re on the menu.”
Spirit Creek Baptist Church has historical significance to the community.
“We're a historic church made up of predominantly African American people,” said Godbee. “We started in the 1800’s. We have graves of enslaved people on our property. We're trying to preserve that.”
Godbee said one of the questions asked during the town hall was: "Why build this facility in this neighborhood?"
“We asked officials and they really didn't have a good answer,” said Godbee. “They said the property at 1680 Dixon Airline Rd. was available. I asked, ‘Which of you wants this plant next to your church?’ None of them answered, 'Yes.'”
As to what the next steps are, Godbee said it wasn’t clear.
“We asked (Augusta) Commissioner Tony Lewis about next steps and they said they will notify us,” said Godbee. "Officially it has been tabled for now. It was sent back to the (commission's) Environmental Committee for further research.”
Godbee said the fight must go on.
“We will continue to collect signatures on our petition,” he said. “We have close to 200 signatures so far. We plan on delivering the petition to the (Augusta) Commission.”
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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: Renewable Energy facility proposal receives pushback from community
