Sussex P&Z backs poultry waste recycling plant

A proposed poultry waste recycling plant has cleared its first hurdle with a positive recommendation made by Sussex County Planning and Zoning during its March 11 meeting.

Bioenergy Devco, based in Annapolis, Md., has filed a conditional-use application to amend four other conditional-use permits issued over the past three decades for the project to convert poultry processing plant waste, known as DAF, into natural gas and compost using an anaerobic digester process at its composting facility south of Seaford off Route 13A.

The company purchased the existing plant last February from Perdue Farms and has entered into a 20-year contract with Perdue to recycle its poultry plant waste.

DAF, or dissolved air flotation, is the liquified end product of wastewater treatment at poultry processing plants. A Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control permit would allow up to 220,000 tons of DAF per year to be recycled at the plant.

In the anaerobic process, poultry waste in the digesters is heated and constantly mixed for about 30 days. Microorganisms break down the material, which is called digestate. A centrifuge would be used to remove excess water from the digestate, with the remaining solid material transferred to the composting facility. There it would be processed with wood waste to make organic compost.

The microorganisms release biogas, which is a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and traces of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. The gas will be captured and scrubbed as part of the facility's process.

Chesapeake Utilities will take the biogas off site, clean it to renewable natural gas and inject it into the company's natural gas pipeline.

Sussex County Council has scheduled a public hearing on the application at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 16, in the Carter Partnership Center at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown.

Opponents condemn commission action

The action drew swift condemnation from opponents of the project, including Food & Water Action Delaware, which issued a press release March 12.

“The public hearing earlier this month confirmed that important questions remain unanswered about the full scope of what this project would mean for Sussex County residents and the local environment,” said Food & Water Action Delaware organizer Greg Layton. “As Bioenergy Devco moves forward to build its factory farm biogas plant, robust local opposition will remain steadfast. Bioenergy’s plans to transform this site into Perdue’s industrial waste dumping ground for the entire region is a dangerous path for the county council to proceed along. They must say no to Bioenergy.”

See the complete press release at: https://tinyurl.com/2zyhysan.