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Sussex council gives compost facility its blessing

Tighter restrictions, inspections are part of unanimous approval
August 8, 2017

Story Location:
9372 Draper Road
Milford, DE
United States

With a long list of amended conditions, Sussex County Council voted unanimously to approve a conditional-use application to allow Blessing Greenhouses and Compost to continue its operation on Draper Road in a rural area near Milford.

The amendments, as presented by Councilman I.G. Burton, R-Lewes, strengthen the county's inspection role and put a time limit on owner Bruce Blessing to clean up a large outdoor pile that has drawn the ire of area residents.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control staff will have jurisdiction over the clean up, but county council members want county inspectors involved as well.

“We want our personnel involved in every stage of the process,” said Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford.

County attorney Everett Moore said the conditions will require inspections by county and state staff. “And if he fails to comply with any of the conditions, the conditional use is voided,” he said.

Among the amendments to planning and zoning's conditions, Blessing must clean up stored pre-composting material on a large cement pad. Once the pad is cleared, it can no longer be used in the composting process.

Burton said all composting must occur in new buildings to be constructed as Blessing upgrades the composting process on the parcel.

“And nothing new can happen until the buildings are constructed?” Arlett asked.

“Yes,” Moore responded.

Removal of the material should begin as soon as the application is approved. In a letter to the county, DNREC officials said there is as much as 100,000 tons of material in the pad-site area.

Blessing will have four months to comply with the required remediation of the parcel without posting a performance bond. But, Burton said, if the work is not completed within the deadline, Blessing will be required to post a $1 million performance bond.

“The applicant has been in violation for years,” Arlett said. “This not perfect but there is a level of expectation to the applicant and DNREC. And I'm sure the public will have eyes on the ground.”

Burton said county officials want Blessing to succeed in his business plan. “But if it ends up bad business, he needs to be out of business,” he said.

“The conditions give the applicant an opportunity to be a good neighbor and steward of the land,” said Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View.

During public hearings, Blessing unveiled a major plan to revamp his composting process. The plan includes seven new 11,000-square-foot covered buildings with 12-inch concrete floors capable of processing 4,000 cubic yards of compost at a time.

Blessing Blends organic compost is the major product produced at the site and is sold retail and wholesale. Flowers and vegetables are grown in greenhouses at the site.

Plans also call for the current stormwater management system to be retrofitted to meet DNREC standards and to include submerged gravel wetlands at areas where nitrogen runoff is an issue.

Residents have complained for years about odors and runoff from the site. Tim Willard, Blessing’s attorney, said with the new process and safeguards in place, those problems will no longer be issues.

A final site plan, including all buildings, buffers, a landscaping plan and stormwater management facilities must be reviewed and approved by the county's planning and zoning commission.

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