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A sign for a Facebook group opposing the proposed Saratoga Biochar Solutions carbon fertilizer facility is seen at the entrance of the Moreau Industrial Park. The proposal for the plant in the underpopulated park has received consistent public pushback. Moreau Planning Board members will put the plans to a vote at their meeting on Monday at 7 p.m.
MOREAU — After two years of review, the carbon fertilizer plant proposed by Saratoga Biochar Solutions may finally call Moreau home, if the vote passes at the Planning Board meeting on Monday.
At 7 p.m. inside Moreau Town Hall, Planning Board members will cast a final vote on whether to approve site plans for what has been called a “sewage sludge burning” plant.
Although residents will not have the opportunity to speak at the public meeting, a Facebook page organized by community members called “Not Moreau” encourages public attendance to the meeting.
“Although we cannot speak, a strong presence will have a large impact. Thank you all for your continued support of our community!” a post on Friday read.
A sign made by the citizen-organized group was put up outside of the Moreau Industrial Park ahead of the scheduled meeting.
The page is described as a collaborative, community effort “against the Biochar Sewer processing facility being built in the Town of Moreau Industrial Park.”
“We are here to answer questions about how this will affect us all. Please help stop this from happening,” the account’s description states.
On Friday, CEO of Biochar Solutions Raymond Apy said the company is hopeful for a positive outcome at the meeting.
“From mid-May through June, we completed and submitted what the Planning Board required of us, and what we thought would be additionally helpful, and received a document during their meeting on June 20 indicating that our application was complete,” Apy said.
The Post-Star previously reported, after hearing numerous concerns from many residents during a public hearing on May 12, that the Planning Board voted in favor of an independent review of Saratoga Biochar Solutions, potentially slowing down the plant’s application process.
Part of the application process involved the company undergoing an environmental review process by the state Department of Environmental Conservation under the state Environmental Quality Review Act.
The DEC completed the process and submitted a “negative declaration,” meaning that the DEC determined that Saratoga Biochar’s plant operations would not have any adverse affects on the environment.
Apy, and Biochar President Bryce Meeker, told The Post-Star they had found a way to turn waste into a useful product while emitting less greenhouse gases than the alternative waste control methods: landfills and incineration.
Despite this, many people have spoken out against the plant, in particular their concerns regarding pollution from heating PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals used in industry and consumer products that have been linked to adverse effects in humans.
The process the plant uses results in a biodegradable fertilizer that can restore nutrients in the soil it is used in, according to Meeker.
“We will not be burning solids in any shape or form. What we do is burn a gas,” he said.
He explained the process known as pyrolysis, which involves a chemical change in composition due to exposure to extreme heat in an oxygen-less environment. The process results in an undetectable level of PFAS chemicals in the finished product.
Meeker said this process creates “a lot of heat,” which is turned into energy to help run the plant, resulting in 83% of the facility’s power coming from renewable energy.
Despite numerous presentations made by the company, some residents voiced their distrust and doubts in the DEC’s regulatory procedures.
“When we asked the company if they would consider continuous emissions monitoring based on the concerns of residents, they deflected to DEC regulations five times. The DEC, as was said at the Planning Board meeting, doesn’t have to report its findings to the town. So if they (Biochar) are out of compliance, we may not even know. That’s an issue for our town,” town resident Matt Boucher said at the May meeting.
Other concerns voiced by residents include bad odors that could come from such a plant, as well as noise levels, as the plant is proposed to run around the clock.
Jana DeCamilla is a staff writer who covers Moreau, Queensbury, and Lake George. She can be reached at 518-742-3272 or jdecamilla@poststar.com.
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A sign for a Facebook group opposing the proposed Saratoga Biochar Solutions carbon fertilizer facility is seen at the entrance of the Moreau Industrial Park. The proposal for the plant in the underpopulated park has received consistent public pushback. Moreau Planning Board members will put the plans to a vote at their meeting on Monday at 7 p.m.
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