Recent letters in the Cape Gazette’s pages about the Bioenergy Innovation Center project have contained a significant amount of misinformation and inaccuracies. As a BIC office manager and a longtime Seaford resident, the inaccuracies I’ve read in other letters to the editor concern me. For years, I lived next to the facility. I know it. Here are some indisputable facts about the expansion, which will convert chicken processing byproducts into clean, renewable natural gas and compost for healthy soil. I see this as a victory for Delmarva families and farmers:
- Contrary to what a letter to the editor states Nov. 8, the center will primarily recycle chicken processing byproducts. In the future, it may take in some chicken litter, which contains poultry manure.
- Bioenergy Devco, the center’s owner, has been fully transparent and met with many local community members, including members of the Haitian Creole and Hispanic communities – not withholding relevant information, as claimed Oct. 21. We also invited opponents to tour the facility, which they declined.
- For the last 20 years, the center has been home to an existing composting operation (Perdue AgriRecycle). The facility has always been a good neighbor. Elected officials and county leaders live within a few miles of the site. BIC is not an industrial operation in a marginalized area, as submitted Oct. 21.
- This project will help our land, air and water by taking unwanted and unused wastes and transforming them into usable, viable products with proven technology. It will not pollute our environment, as detailed Oct. 18. The system to be used is safe, contained, monitored and controlled. The state fire marshal gave us a permit and local fire companies have visited as well.
For accurate and up-to-date information on the Bioenergy Innovation Center, or to schedule a tour of our current composting facility, go to www.bioenergyic.com. I personally provide tours. We look forward to working with our neighbors to make this project successful for Delaware and Sussex County.
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