Lind supervisors vote against controversial waste digester project - WeAreGreenBay.com
Lind supervisors vote against controversial waste digester project | WFRV
WAUPACA COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Town of Lind supervisors have pumped the brakes on a large agriculture project at one of their local farms.
Supervisors voted against recommending zoning changes that would allow Brooks Farms to get an anaerobic waste digester. The vote came after 4.5 hours worth of public discussion, with both opponents and proponents passionately stating their cases.
An anaerobic waste digester converts manure and food waste into renewable energy. The process also produces a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer for crops.
“By doing that we are able to create a renewable natural gas and reduce greenhouse emissions for our environment and local communities,” said Brooks Farms assistant herd manager Sydney Brooks Howard.
The farm had been working with Vanguard Renewables out of Massachusetts for this project. Representatives from this company, Brooks Farms, state agriculture advocates, and community members all spoke in favor of allowing this project to go through.
“This technology will allow us to do even better when it comes to protecting water quality,” said Brooks Farms president Ron Brooks.
“We’ve all witnessed many farms and local businesses failing and having to sell, how can we not support a local family-owned business so that they can keep their doors open and be profitable into the future,” said another person at the meeting.
Many people showed up to the meeting to speak out against the project.
They said they’re concerned that bringing an anaerobic digester into the community will actually be bad for the environment. They said although it would reduce the methane that gets into the air, it would increase other gases that increase global warming.
They’re also fearful that byproducts of the digester could get into their water supply.
“We don’t hate Brooks farm, we love farmers,” said town of Lind resident Archie Carpenter. “But we like our environment more when you try to wreck it.”
Some also said bringing the machine into the town of Lind doesn’t align with the small town’s comprehensive plan.
“We must do all in our power not to abandon our beliefs and what we value for what others call progress,” said Lauren Knudzsen.
Related Knowledge Center: Methane
As the production of natural gas from shale fields has expanded, so have methane emissions. U.S. methane emissions grew 27 percent from 1990 to 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. Methane contributes about 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.