Poultry litter recycling plant would be first of its kind

Following a three-hour Feb. 20 public hearing, Sussex County Council deferred on a vote on a conditional-use application filed by CleanBay Renewables LLC, Sussex I for a chicken litter nutrient recovery/electrical generation facility on a 17-acre parcel south of Georgetown.

If approved, it would be the first poultry litter recycling facility in the nation that has a procedure to remove phosphorus from manure.

The same company previously submitted an application for two plants on 53 acres along Route 9 east of Georgetown. In July, the planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the application, and the developer withdrew the application before a scheduled county council public hearing.

“We went back to the drawing board,” said Andy Hallmark, the company's outreach director.

The proposed 490,000-square-foot facility near the intersection of Route 113 and Breasure Road is a scaled-down version of the original project.

At its Feb. 8 meeting, Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the application.

Plant would have a dual purpose

The plant would process 250 tons of litter per day during a 24-hour operation, or about 91,000 tons per year. Up to 12 tractor-trailers a day would deliver litter to the plant from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week; six trucks would leave with nutrient material and granular phosphorus, said Kristi Shaw, CleanBay Renewables environmental scientist. Each truck holds 23 tons and represents a complete chicken house clean out.

To reduce odor, Shaw said, trucks would use an enclosed conveyor system to offload the material into four 100,000-gallon mix tanks to start the month-long process. The material would eventually be pumped into two other tank systems.

Shaw said methane gas would be produced by the enclosed, anaerobic digestive/fermentation process; methane would power generators to provide electricity to the grid.

Shaw said methane gas is kept under 100 percent humidity with no risk of explosion.

Not all the litter would be converted to methane gas. The material would be recycled through a nutrient recovery facility where phosphorus and nitrogen in the litter would be separated into two products.

Phosphorus would be removed from the litter and sold to markets in the Midwest. The remaining material with nitrogen is an organic-rich soil that is a very profitable and a useful product for farmers as land-applied fertilizer, Shaw said.

“Instead of just spreading it on the ground, we are getting a lot extra out of it,” Shaw said.

Shaw emphasized the process takes place within an enclosed facility.

Enough electricity for 3,500 homes

Hallmark said one of the key reasons for the proposed location is its proximity to Delaware Electric Cooperative power lines. The plant would generate five megawatts of electricity, enough to power 3,500 homes each day. A sixth megawatt would be used to power the facility.

The coop has signed a power purchase agreement with CleanBay Renewables.

Shaw said noise from the generators would be about the same as sound produced by air conditioning units and would fall off after 33 feet. The closest home is more than 400 feet away, she said.

Shaw said the facility would need several permits pertaining to air and water quality that would be monitored by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Residents: Good idea, bad location

Residents supported the concept for the project but not the location. “The zoning is wrong, It doesn't work. This belongs in an industrial area and not in the middle of communities,” said Maria Payan, a consultant with Socially Responsible Agricultural Project.

“This is an industrial application across from a residential area,” said John Roach, who lives on Melson Road. “This is extreme zoning. Whenever you mix them, you are asking for trouble.”

The parcel is zoned AR-1, agricultural-residential, and is being used as farmland.

Rebecca Breasure, who has lived in the area for 50 years, spoke about a long list of concerns including air pollution, noise, odor, health problems, dust and traffic.

“If this is not so good for people along Route 9, why is it good for us?” she asked. “Very few people want to live by chicken manure.”

She said if council approves the application, residents want several more conditions placed on it, including water and air quality checks every six months with results sent to residents and published in newspapers; payment for all medical issues related to the plant for residents within a 10-mile radius; payment for any lost revenue at three daycare centers in the area; and a phone number provided to all residents to report violations.

Jacob Breasure said the public record contains a petition signed by more than 180 residents in opposition to the application.

“We do not have a problem with excess poultry litter in our area. In fact, farmers need more,” said Sandra Blades of Breasure Road.

Alma Roach, who lives on Melson Road, said county officials should wait to see how the untested concept works. “You should see it, kick it and drive it before you make a decision,” she said.

CleanBay Renewables is in the process of building a similar plant in Westover, Md., south of Salisbury.

In addition, Roach said, county council should add a condition requiring the company to post a bond to protect groundwater in the area.

Concerns about Breasure Road

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, said residents already face truck traffic from a nearby borrow pit. He asked if access to the parcel could be from Route 113 and not Breasure Road.

Dennis Schrader, the applicant's attorney, said Route 113 is in the state's corridor capacity preservation program. He said DelDOT officials have made it clear there could not be an entrance off Route 113.

“If there is a way to get off from 113, we will certainly look into that,” Schrader said.

Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, said Breasure Road was not wide enough for truck traffic.

Sussex Planning and Zoning Director Janelle Cornwell told Arlett that DelDOT would likely require road improvements as part of site-plan review.

The project has the endorsement of Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, Delaware Department of Agriculture and Delmarva Poultry Industry.

“This is an innovative recycling process, and we can comply with all planning and zoning conditions,” Schrader said.