From: Paul Chernick <paul.chernick@...>
Subject: [lex-tmma] Re: Anaerobic digester concerns
To: "Lexington TMMA" <lex-tmma@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 10:31 AM

 

Ben,

Without prejudging the merits of an anaerobic digester on at the old landfill on Hartwell Ave, it is clear that much of what you say below is incorrect.

The facility would not be visible from the rest of Hartwell Ave, since it would be set well back on the Town's composting facility. The RFP process would ensure that odor would not be a problem, or the plant would be shut down. If the proposers (and there are likely to be several) would need to demonstrate that they have a low-odor technology. Of course, we won't see the detailed proposals without the RFP.

The plant would not consume any significant amount of water. Moist food waste would come in, and dry compost would go out. It is also not clear what sewage would be produced, since the product is compost. And your speculation that the plant would not generate net electricity is unfounded; these plants sell power to utilities.

The problem you cite in Ontario is from 2006. The company's site indicates that the facility is operating (www.emterra.ca/organic_waste/) and also explains the process. I don't see anything about odour problems on the Town's web site since August 2009. 

You don't explain how you think the facility would encourage or support rats. Perhaps you are assuming that food waste would be left out in the open. That is not my understanding, and I don't see the Town accepting any proposal that includes open waste. Indeed, getting waste out of store and restaurant dumpsters and into the digester may reduce vermin problems.

Truck traffic is an issue, and the proposals would provide the Town with information necessary to decide whether the traffic level would be problematic. The license might limit truck trips at peak traffic hours. 

Solar would be wonderful. If you know of any solar developer who would like to build a facility at the Hartwell property, send them to Bill Hadley at the DPW. There may well be room for the digester, a solar facility, and the Town's composting and hazardous-waste collection. 

Paul Chernick

Energy Committee

From: Ben Moroze <ben@...>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:57:07 -0500
To: Lexington TMMA <lex-tmma@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [lex-tmma] Anaerobic digester concerns

 

As some of you may be aware, there is a quiet process going on in town concerning an alternate use of the Hartwell Ave. composting facility.  The only proposal that has been pursued thus far is to put an anaerobic digester on the site.  An anaerobic digester is a commercial organic waste composting  facility, designed to produce compost and, in some cases, energy.

 

Among those who have looked into this proposal, there is a growing feeling that there are better uses for the site.  There are concerns that while the anaerobic digester may bring in minor revenue to the town and be a “green” activity, the proposal has serious drawbacks that will ultimately harm the town’s economic development and environment.

 

The biggest concern is the certain economic damage to initiatives already underway in the Hartwell Avenue commercial district.  The town is seeking to attract denser, high-end commercial properties and tenants on Hartwell Avenue, through modified zoning and traffic reengineering.   By making Hartwell Avenue one of the most appealing office and laboratory locations in the area, these initiatives are expected to sharply increase Lexington’s commercial tax base and attract high-end jobs to the town.  Placing a new waste facility of any type in the middle of Hartwell Avenue is antithetical to creating a destination for the types of businesses and well-paying jobs we mean to attract.  The Economic Development Advisory Council has expressed their strong opposition to the anaerobic digester.  Building this kind of facility while at the same time trying to market Hartwell Avenue as an upscale office and laboratory corridor are ideas at counter purposes.

 

Anaerobic digesters, while they may be greener than simply incinerating or burying food waste, are not a panacea.  Food waste is a very small portion of the solid waste stream, so diverting it does not save the town money or solve the state's solid waste problem.  Anaerobic digesters require a lot of energy to run: the waste must be trucked in; the plants require heat to keep the digestion process operating in cool weather; and the process of breaking down waste generates hydrogen sulfide and odors, which require powerful ventilation systems to control.  They also consume water and produce sewage, which then either ends up in the town sewer system or must be trucked to another waste facility.   It isn’t clear that they would be a net producer of electric power, which is one of the green benefits cited.

 

And they potentially bring some serious drawbacks.  There isn’t a lengthy track record with these facilities around the world, and the record they do have is not great: witness the Newmarket, Ontario facility and the court battles that ensued between the town and the facilities operator, Halton (Town of Newmarket website).  Odors, numerous extra truck trips on Hartwell Avenue, and vermin (rats) are all negatives whose impact won’t be known in advance.  Apparently, the firm interested in working with the town on the anaerobic digester has neither built nor operated one anywhere yet.  This is a very risky proposition for Lexington.

 

There are other green, revenue-generating alternatives for the site that carry none of these economic or environmental risks.  One possibility is the construction of a solar generating facility.  Once constructed, it would absolutely be a net producer of power.  There would be no odor, no truck trips, and no vermin.  And high-end firms and laboratories would have no objection to co-locating with such a facility.  In fact, for green energy companies involved in solar research and development, it might be a plus.

 

While the goals of this proposal are noble, the single minded push for an anaerobic digester waste facility on Hartwell Avenue imperils the town’s long-running goal of increasing the tax base of the commercial zone there.  It also makes Lexington a guinea pig for a not-well-proven, high-risk facility that could have detrimental impacts on the town, its economics, and its quality of life for years to come. 

 

Even if the town decides not to go forward with an anaerobic digester facility after evaluating proposals, issuing a Request for Proposals will itself have a chilling effect on economic development along Hartwell Avenue.  We should slow down and consider better alternatives.

Ben Moroze
Pct. 7