Several delegations appeared before the Augusta Commission on Aug. 1 to protest a planned biomass production facility on Dixon Airline Road in South Augusta.
Attorney Jack Long Sr. represented members of the historic Spirit Creek Baptist Church and told commissioners that the congregation is concerned over emissions from the plant, odors it may cause and noise pollution in the area.
Savannah Riverkeeper Director Tonya Bonitatibus also addressed the commission and said that the congregation was never consulted by Renovatio Solution LLC, the company planning the facility.
“As a result, we do not know what the feed stock is going to be or what impact it will have on the neighborhood,” Bonitatibus said.
The commission took no action as the matter is already on the Engineering Committee for the Aug. 8 meeting.
Ben McElreath, co-owner of Renovatio Solution LLC, says that the church congregation’s fears are ungrounded.
According to McElreath, the biomass project planned in Augusta has a process that was developed in California.
“There are plants like this in California and in Europe where there are some of the toughest emissions laws in the world,” McElreath said.
The word “burn” can be a bit misleading since there are no flames involved, nor any smoke released in the process. The word “burn” is used to describe the anaerobic digestion process.
“We bring in trash that would normally go to the landfill, and it is sorted through to separate the recyclables from the organic matter like table scraps. The organic material is then treated with a process that creates biogas and then we convert that to clean-burning natural gas,” McElreath said.
The by-product of the burning is a material that can be converted into fertilizer, meaning that very little, if nothing, will be taken to the landfill.
“This process does not release hardly any methane into the environment. Methane is worse than carbon dioxide and the landfill releases 28 times more methane, even though they try to burn it off,” McElreath said.
McElreath also points out that an inert landfill already exists in the area, right across the street from his property.
Joe Edge, president of Sherman and Hemstreet, is in the process of purchasing the property across the street and plans to enter it into the Brownfield program. According to Edge, he has no problem with the biomass facility being constructed.
“I have consulted with our environmental attorney and he said it’s not going to be a problem,” Edge said.
Augusta Economic Development Authority President Cal Wray says he is somewhat familiar with the project, having been contacted by Renovatio Solution LLC as far back as September of 2022.
“They really didn’t need much help from us, it seems they are doing everything right from our perspective. It certainly didn’t raise any red flags,” Wray said.
The $40 million dollar project, according to Wray, will start out with 100 temporary jobs and 19 permanent jobs that pay between $22 to $77 an hour.
Wray points out that Renovatio Solution LLC already owns the land, has followed EPD rules to the letter and the area is zoned for light industrial use, so there is little the Augusta Commission can do to stop the plant from being built.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
