By Glenn Rolfe

SEAFORD — Expanded conversion of poultry waste to create renewable energy through anaerobic digestion at an established facility has the green light from Sussex County.

With conditions recommended by the county Planning & Zoning Commission, Sussex County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Bioenergy DevCo’s conditional-use application for its Bioenergy Innovation Center micronutrient-processing facility, south of Seaford.

The digester will augment BDC’s current composting operation at the former Perdue AgriRecycle establishment at the site.

“We are very pleased with the decision made by the Sussex County Council regarding our application for conditional use,” said Peter Ettinger, chief development officer for BDC. “The BIC will provide a much-needed alternative to organic-material management in the area. Not only will the facility reduce land application and poultry organics from going into landfills, but it will also turn these organics into renewable natural gas and digestate, a virtually odorless soil amendment. We look forward to the opportunity to present our application to (the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control).”

The company says it will submit its application to DNREC this week, with hopes of having a decision back in 90-120 days.

Opposition to BDC’s proposal voiced at public hearings before council and Planning & Zoning focused on truck traffic, odor, potential contamination and risk of fire, due to the presence of methane created in the digester process.

Following the decision Tuesday, Maria Payan of Selbyville, a consultant for the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, said she was disappointed.

“What started as pelletizing poultry litter has been completely replaced with an industrial methane gas facility,” she said. “Nobody is fooled. The poultry-processing industry has found their solution to disposing of their stinky industrial wastewater by pretending it is poultry litter, and the council knowingly agreed, despite hundreds of pages of opposition from their constituents. The poultry industry once again flexed their muscle, and the council obeyed.”

In making the motion to approve, Council President Michael Vincent noted that the original application filed by Perdue AgriRecycle in September 1999 was for a micronutrient plant, and it was amended twice — in 2006 and 2013.

“The overall use of the plant does not change. It is still being used as a micronutrient plant, and poultry litter is still being used,” said Councilman Vincent, who represents the Seaford-Blades area. “The application as submitted does put the public on notice that not only is the same activity on the site being continued but also expanded through nutrient recovery for natural gas and electrical generation.

“Keep in mind we are dealing with land use — and land use only,” he added, referring to questions during testimony regarding permits from DNREC and elsewhere.

“Those things are not done by (County Council). Those are separate entities,” said the councilman. “Nothing can happen on that site until these approvals are received by the Planning & Zoning Office. So with the conditions placed by Planning & Zoning and the reasons for, I am going to vote yes.”

Council members Mark Schaeffer, Cindi Green, Doug Hudson and John Rieley made the approval vote unanimous.

With the county’s official go-ahead, and pending securement of all required permitting, Bioenergy DevCo’s plan is to construct four anaerobic digesters, three pre-tanks and a water-treatment system on the 228.88-acre property on Enviro Way, off Seaford Road.

BDC, which has developed more than 220 plants worldwide, will employ anaerobic digestion, using an enclosed process and creating a biogas that would be marketed in partnership with Chesapeake Utilities, according to Mr. Ettinger.

Based in Howard County, Maryland, BDC is currently developing four facilities in the U.S. Its closest anaerobic digester is a 100,000-ton-per-year facility collocated with the Maryland Food Center Authority in Jessup.

In comparison, the proposed digester system at the Seaford site could accommodate approximately 220,000 tons of waste per year from local poultry farmers and processors, Mr. Ettinger said.

According to BDC, anaerobic digestion is a powerful technology that naturally breaks down organic wastes, which would otherwise typically be headed for incineration, crowded landfills or left to pollute local environments. Instead, it turns the waste into renewable natural gas and organic soil amendments, providing a sustainable alternative to poultry-processing organics management throughout Delmarva.

On March 16, County Council deferred action on BDC’s proposal, following several hours of public testimony, the majority of which was in opposition to the plant.

Prior to that, on March 11, the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the application, subject to a dozen recommended conditions, including:

• The proposed facility shall be subject to DNREC and other state and federal regulatory approvals.

• The proposed facility shall only accept, process and handle poultry litter and dissolved air flotation waste.

• There shall not be any stockpiling of DAF, poultry litter or wastewater on-site.

• The conditional use shall be valid concurrent with DNREC’s permits for this use. If the DNREC permits are terminated or expire, the conditional use shall also terminate and expire.

• The proposed facility, anerobic digesters, pre-tanks and other equipment and structures related to this use shall be located behind the site of the existing pelletizing facility, and the area of disturbance related to this new use shall be no greater than 11.3 acres.

• Applicant shall submit a final site plan, which will be subject to the review and approval of the Planning & Zoning Commission.

Public welcome

In its statement issued Tuesday, Bioenergy DevCo encourages anyone with questions about the project to submit them here, where there are also several educational resources for download.

Additionally, community members and local organizations are welcome to visit the BIC for a tour and a deeper overview of anaerobic digestion and how the facility can benefit the Delmarva region.

On May 8, BDC is hosting an International Composting Week open house at the BIC.