By Zach Jensen,
Pictured is a Novilla biodigester facility in West Branch (Submitted)
A request to rezone a piece of rural Ridgeway property from agricultural to industrial was approved in a 3-2 vote by the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors following a public hearing on the issue Monday morning.
Novilla Renewable Natural Gas submitted the zoning application, and the proposed biodigester will be located on land owned by Craig Bohr and Deb Storlie — specifically, the area near the intersection of 275th Street and Iowa Highway 9.
A biodigester contains microorganisms which break down manure in an oxygen-free environment, producing renewable natural gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – the facilities are also sometimes called anaerobic digestion systems or anaerobic digesters.
The zoning change request was necessary for Novilla’s proposed biodigester to be able to process and refine gases.
Monday’s public hearing was held after the county’s planning and zoning commission voted 4-2 against granting Novilla’s zoning change request. During that meeting, the commission’s primary complaint was that it wasn’t given adequate time to do the necessary research before making a decision on the issue. Some commissioners were also concerned about the potential for groundwater contamination — the proposed digesters are expected to be placed on a concrete base 3 feet thick, and they are to be filled with 70 feet of water to test for leaks before operations begin.
Similar concerns carried over into Monday’s public hearing, which was attended by more than 50 community members. However, according to Winneshiek County Auditor Ben Steines, such concerns would have been more appropriately directed to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which oversees agricultural issues such as groundwater contamination by agricultural waste.
“The construction of the biodigester is not what the rezoning is (for),” Steines said before the public hearing began. “This board’s action, today, won’t approve or prohibit the construction of that digester. This board is deciding, if the digester is built, whether they can refine the gasses that are put out by the digester at this location. That’s what the zoning is for — the processing and refining of gasses.”
Donna Rasmussen, who sits on the county’s planning and zoning commission, was one of the two commissioners who voted in favor of the rezoning request on July 16. She attended the Aug. 5 public hearing and publicly shared why she was in favor of the zoning change.
“Methane capture is a huge part of climate change mitigation. The manure is already there. It’s in an open lagoon right now — releasing methane and other gases into the atmosphere directly. When you have manure in an underground storage facility, like in a pit or a lagoon, you have very real concerns about leaks from those facilities. By moving the manure into an above-ground digester, I feel you have better capability to detect leaks.”
Rasmussen said that the fibrous digestate resulting from the biodigester’s process is a more chemically-consistent product than manure, which is safer to use as fertilizer than raw manure. She said the potential benefits of the digester outweigh the risks in her opinion.
But, that opinion was not shared by many members of the public in attendance. Fifteen attendees voiced negative opinions of the issue — primarily regarding the chemicals produced during the anaerobic process and the safety of the area’s groundwater.
“I do think the supervisors have the right to talk about stuff like this, in terms of water quality, animals, manure and drinking water, because this does affect it,” said county resident Mike Stike. “If you rezone it, it’s going to change things. But, you guys can do something about it before it even gets to DNR. You guys can stop this from the get-go and not allow it to happen. Let’s not rezone this, for our water quality, our livelihood and our rights as citizens to be able to drive down the road and not choke on the odors that are happening out there. You lead this county. We live here. We have the right to clean air and clean water.”
Chris Jones, founder of Driftless Water Defenders, agreed with Stike about the potential for groundwater contamination.
“I understand issues regarding the rezoning — what’s the responsibility of DNR, what’s the responsibility of supervisors,” Jones said. “To just wash your hands of these expected circumstances just isn’t right. DNR data shows that 356 out of 1,452 wells in Winneshiek County have elevated nitrates.”
Supervisor Chairperson Dan Langreck interrupted Jones and informed him that the potential for groundwater contamination had nothing to do with the rezoning request — reminding the gallery that, as Steines pointed out prior to the hearing, the morning’s hearing only concerned Novilla’s ability to process and refine gases at the site. Jones responded by asking Langreck if there was no freedom of speech in the public hearing.
“I’m in charge of this meeting,” Langreck exclaimed. “I will let you speak as long as what you’re talking about has to do with the zoning request.”
A brief argument ensued surrounding the roles and responsibilities of the chairperson during a public hearing — questions with which environmental attorney Jim Larew of Iowa City was also concerned, in addition to his thoughts on the biodigester’s potential for contaminating the area’s drinking water.
“You have a problem in this county, the most beautiful place on Earth, with water deteriorating,” said Larew, who represents the Driftless Water Defenders organization. “You have a rolling movement of people here that believe it’s a civil right to have access to clean water. The materials that this organization, which is a profit-making group of investors — let’s recognize it for what it is — has a proclamation of all of these things that it will achieve. Nowhere does it say it will improve the quality of your water. That would be a misstatement of truth. We can show that where digesters have been used, the quality of the water deteriorates … because the digester increases the quantity of livestock nearby. Things have been improving generally, maybe, as some people here have attested but not the quality of your water. It’s getting worse.”
Larew also scrutinized how Langreck was conducting the public hearing.
“We’re told we’re not going to talk about the technology,” Larew said. “The very zoning provisions that these folks want to amend to include to be zoned as M2 specifically states that ‘buildings or structures authorized in this district shall not become a source of water pollution or contamination.’”
Larew cautioned the supervisors to obey the wording and purpose of the county’s zoning ordinance, adding “I would urge you to give respect to the citizens who … wish to be heard. The chairman of a board of supervisors is not a dictator.”
The public hearing was closed after nearly three hours, and the supervisors held the first reading of the zoning ordinance — the board also voted 3-2 to skip the second and third readings as allowed under Iowa law. Ultimately, Supervisors Mark Faldet and Shirley Vermace voted against the rezoning, while Supervisors Steve Kelsay, Mark Vick and Langreck voted in favor of the request. The 3-2 vote will now allow Novilla’s proposed biodigester facility to process and refine gases on the property.
In other business:
– Recycling Supervisor Scott Logsdon announced he will be retiring in January of 2025.
– The supervisors continued their discussion of generator options for the Community Services Building.
– Winneshiek County Engineer Michael Kueny said data collection for the Middle Hesper Road speed study has been completed, and the report will be finished this week.
The next meeting of the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Aug. 12 in the courthouse annex.
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.