EPA referees ongoing methane plant fight
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official was thrust into a tense public meeting Thursday where several residents told the federal agency, city officials and Star Energy executives that western Louisville is not the place for a food waste plant.
Mayor Greg Fischer asked the EPA to visit in order to discuss the science and technology behind the Ft. Wayne, Ind.-based energy company's plan to build a biodigester at 17th and Maple streets.
"The EPA has been asked to come down here and participate in this as purely objective scientists,” EPA engineer Steve Rock told the audience.
Rock fielded dozens of questions from the crowd -- along with Star Energy attorney Brian Zoeller and Keith Hackett, assistant director Metro Public Works -- with many saying they have learned enough about the technology
“We're not looking for more benefits, we don't want it at all,” Bani Hines-Hudson, a Shawnee neighborhood resident, said. "It's unfair right now the number of industrial insults that we're exposed to."
In a presentation handed out to residents, Rock outlined the benefits and cautions about biodigester facilities, which he said are given the same safety considerations as propane containers.
The EPA supports steps to reduce food waste, which Rock said is bad for people and the environment.
The agency, for instance, announced in September its nationwide goal is to cut food waste in half by 2030.
Rock has worked on several biodigester facilities across the country and said Star Energy's would be one of the first to be built in such a dense urban setting. But Rock said he didn't know enough about their specific plans to comment on the facility.
"I understand that people are concerned about it, but I can't talk to this specific facility because I don't have enough information," he said.
Many residents said they left the meeting more frustrated and believe Fischer needs to be more directly involved.
Supporters have heralded the technology as a safe way to turn corn, grains and other materials from Heaven Hill Brands’ bourbon distilling process into green energy.
Fischer has stressed he has not taken a position on where the biodigester should be located. The green technology, however, aligns with the city’s overall goal to reduce food waste to extend the longevity of the landfill located at Outer Loop.
“Right now we have about 40 to 50 years on the landfill, but we always have to think about the future to make sure that’s not an issue in Jefferson County,” Hatchett said.
Fischer urges tours of methane plant site
Hackett said the city remains neutral on where Star Energy’s biodigester should be located.
Carl Sitgraves, who lives in the Shively area, said the EPA’s presentation did little to change his mind that the facility needs to be located away from residential neighborhoods.
“All of this dialogue doesn’t matter if we don’t want it,” Sitgraves said. “If there’s that much skepticism take it somewhere else. All they’re doing now is taking it above our heads and let other folks on the zoning board vote on it, and they’re going to vote on it because they don’t live down here.”
Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at (502) 582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com.