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Biogas - A wolf in sheep’s clothing?

  • Boe Daley - April 15, 2021

https://www.capegazette.com/article/biogas-wolf-sheep%E2%80%99s-clothing/218196

Questions regarding economic benefits to Delawareans:

  • Will they use local trucking businesses and construction companies to help people living in Delaware?

  • Does Bioenergy have any plans to train the locals to hire for high paying jobs, or they will bring high-tech employees from elsewhere? Or, the locals fill the jobs that pay low wages?

  • How much does the County expect to gain, as tax, etc., from this operation?

  • Is Bioenergy receiving any subsidies from the State?

The real question is: Are there any hazardous liability or future burdens that the County and the State may have to take in the long run?


If they bring the chicken waste from all over Delmarva, and possibly from North Carolina (based on a recent article), to process them in Sussex County, even after extracting the methane gas, compost and pellets, there are still large quantity of wastes to be disposed of in Sussex County. Isn't this a huge burden for Sussex County? How do we ensure the bays and groundwater will not be adversely affected by this huge operation?


We understand the argument that AD (anaerobic digester) benefits the chicken industry a great deal by taking care of its headache. However, we are not sure taking in other areas' waste here and taking care of their headache is the responsible thing to do for the local residents and our children.


If the AD is so beneficial and Dogfish Head Brewery is utilizing it, why not disperse the operation in smaller scale so that the local wastes are taken care of locally. This will reduce the long distance truck/trailer traffic and potential large-scale hazards on a concentrated area.

Questions on Traffic Analysis:

(Based on the Council packet - https://sussexcountyde.gov/sites/default/files/packets/CU%202258%20Bioenergy%20Development%20Group%2003.16.2021%20CC%20Paperless%20Packet_0.pdf )

For DelDOT Site Permit, the applicant listed the 5 following vehicle types (in purple):

  • Employees - About 30+ new employees for the AD facility (on page 89 of the packet)

  • Feedstock delivery - 40 trucks/day - What type of vehicles?

  • Finished compost pick up - 5 trucks/day - What type of vehicles?

  • Treated Wastewater transport - what type of vehicles, how many/how often?

  • CNG - what type of vehicles, how many/how often?

Applicant's Presentation deck, in page 99, does not include employee vehicles, CNG tankers and treated wastewater transfers that are included in the DelDOT Permitting.

So, the questions:

  • How could all these are expected to generate less than 50 vehicle trips per day - based on DelDOT (page 12).

  • Doesn't each vehicle coming in and out count as two vehicle trips? This means DelDOT expects less than 25 vehicles per day generated by this application?

  • What makes up a vehicle trip? A passenger car, a pickup truck or a gas tanker? Do they all count as the same vehicle trip?

Based on DelDOT's recent Coastal Corridors Study workshop, Rt 13 is a heavily trafficked, crash-prone highway.

Concern regarding Wastewater:

The applicant's letter to P&Z dated 4/10/2020 says:

( from page 12 of https://sussexcountyde.gov/sites/default/files/packets/CU%202258%20Bioenergy%20Development%20Group%2C%20LLC%20Paperless%20Packet.pdf)

Wastewater – Sanitary wastewater is currently treated and discharged using an existing on-site wastewater system. Moving forward up to approximately 37.5 million gallons per year of process wastewater will be generated directly by the AD process and supporting facilities. Process wastewater will be collected and refined using on-site pretreatment system, then, based on water balance and discharge limits, incorporated into Sussex County’s wastewater collection system. Initial and very positive discussions are ongoing with the County to create a new sewer district that will include a pumping station and force main to transmit wastewater to the Blades Sanitary Sewer District and subsequently to the City of Seaford for final treatment and discharge. As part of this process, we will work with the County and DNREC to obtain an Approval for the Construction of a Wastewater Conveyance System


Sussex County keeps expanding the wastewater treatment facilities to accommodate its fast growth. Recently, Pelican Points residents (in Millsboro) were complaining on Nextdoor about the sewage smell coming from Inland Bays facility. We need to leave plenty of room for emergency and unexpected situations. Please do not fill our wastewater facilities to capacity.