Letter: Reader Expresses Digester Concerns

To the Editor of Near North Now

On November 20, 2024 at 6 pm at Fremont Area District Library’s Community Room, our state environmental agency, EGLE, will be holding a Public Hearing on a groundwater discharge permit for the Generate Fremont Digester. The proposed permit would enable the now closed facility, to continue to spread their wastewater on area farmland. The public hearing will include a presentation on the permit by EGLE staff, followed by a period for short (less than 3 minute) public comments relating directly to the permit. If you are not interested in speaking, your comments can be written and submitted to EGLE and become part of the public record concerning this permit.

Biogas digesters process food and farm waste turning it into usable energy. Sounds great on paper. However, there are  many environmental, health, and quality of life concerns due to the contents of the wastewater and the odors produced. The odors can be excessive and unbearable compared to the odors typically associated with farm and manure spread. Exposure to the gasses produced, namely methane, carbon dioxide hydrogen sulfide, and nitrous oxide have both environmental and health concerns. 

Biogas digesters vary as to what type(s) of matter is fed into them. Like a stomach, they “digest”  what is put in to them – be it food waste, animal manure, crop waste, and/or human waste. Depending on what is put into the digester, the wastewater can vary in fertilizer quality from one batch to the next. This can be problematic in knowing the true NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) fertilizing capability of each batch. Like many biogas plants, Generate Fremont Digester gives the digestate to farms for free, touting it as an “organic” fertilizer. The word organic by definition merely means “derived from living matter”, but in most American’s minds, we equate organic with “Certified Organic”, that is, pesticide, chemical free products. The digestate is not in any way, shape or form, “Certified Organic”. Many biogas companies grossly mislead farms and land owners. 

Digestate wastewater can contain various chemicals and substances, like microplastics, which are concerning for both the environment and human health. In order to issue a new permit for Generate Fremont Digester, EGLE conducted an extensive geologic study of the area which included testing of the digestate from the lagoons which are located on M120, north of Holton. The digestate tested positive for two industrial solvents, excess rates of: aluminum, iron, ammonia as nitrogen, chloride, iron, manganese, inorganic nitrogen and sodium.  EGLE’s report pointed out that many area wells are at high or very high risk if the digestate is spread too near. Unfortunately, some of these wells have been spread near over the past 6 years without stricter setback limits. However, even though the new permit would have farther setback distances from wells, human error, neglect, field tile issues, and/or heavy rain events can easily move the digestate from where it is intended to be, and move it to areas too near wells and surface waters. The permit would allow the Digester’s owner to do their own sampling of any monitor wells that might be required, versus demanding a certified, third party to do those samples. Many food items depackaged from their plastic containers, further introduce microplastics into digestate. Microplastics can be taken up in crops and damage soil microbial health and pollute waterways during run-off, and add to the already increasing concerns over “emerging contaminants”. In addition to the geologist’s study, EGLE tested and detected the presence of two PFAS class of “forever chemicals”, PFBA and PFPeA. They are likely there because the facility in Fremont does have a depackaging machine.  Some packaging unfortunate, have PFAS chemicals present in them, especially those created to repel liquid and oils. Too few studies have been conducted on all of the many PFAS class of chemicals, including the two detected in the digestate used on our area farmland. Safety label data on PFBA and PFPeA products show that they do pose a danger to human health. To what extent and at what rates? Only future research will tell us. It seems preferable to not be the guineas pigs, like the people affected by the “beneficial use” waste fertilizer from the Eagle Ottawa Leather factory in NW Newaygo/SE Oceana countries or polluted product from the Wixom, Michigan wastewater plant that now has made organic cattle grower, Jason Grostic’s farmland unusable and his meat, banned from sales.
 
The permit has multiple weaknesses and flaws, yet will be the blueprint for many digester permits to come. Though EGLE has the task of issuing industrial permits, it lacks enough staff and have little real authority to effectively enforce the permit terms. This is why the permits need to be as ironclad as possible from the start.  As written, it will not assure the people of our community and our state that land and water will not be adversely affected.  Currently because of the flow of billions of dollars of tax credits, grants, carbon credit, etc, our country is on the brink of many more digesters being built, especially in rural areas. Whether because of campaign finance money from the biogas industry or lack of information as to the ills of biogas production, legislators from both parties are jumping on the digester bandwagon. For various reasons, they are supporting digesters - as a solution to our energy needs, greenhouse gas woes, and/or support big Ag which wants digesters subsidized in order to deal with and make money off the excessive manure produced. Urge your elected officials to dig deeper and learn the whole story behind digesters, which on paper, sound like a dream come true, but in reality are often nightmares. 

The entire upload from Generate and EGLE for the permit can be found at:
https://mienviro.michigan.gov/ncore/external/publicnotice/info/1908290194134435184/documents

Kathy Morrison
Fremont, MI


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