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Bipartisan legislation could unlock Michigan’s biogas potential

Community digester programs accepting food waste could be more feasible if bipartisan legislation in Michigan is passed.

The American Biogas Council’s Vice President of Policy Heather Dziedzic says only 25 percent of the state’s biogas potential has been tapped, but inconsistent permitting is preventing new projects from moving forward.

“In Michigan, over $14 billion in capital is sitting on the sidelines right now because of these issues, and our industry has the ability to add 30,000 jobs to the state,” she says.

During a recent Michigan House Ag Committee hearing, Dziedzic pointed to projects that have stalled significantly because regulators now view digestate as industrial wastewater instead of an agricultural soil amendment.

“The irony here is that if projects in the state bagged or bottled this material and sold it back to farmers, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” she says. “It would be treated differently from a regulatory perspective than it is currently, despite being the same material.”

Her organization’s voluntary Digestate Standards and Certification Program was developed with the EPA to quantify the physical and chemical properties of digestate and provide transparency for regulators. Michigan stakeholders are recommending mandatory testing to demonstrate safety efforts if regulations are amended.

Anaerobic digesters in Michigan today require additional permits from the Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) if more than 20 percent of managed material, like food waste, is incorporated.

Tracy Kecskemeti with the Department’s Materials Management Division says mixed material digesters produce a liquid that is considered wastewater under current law and needs to meet the state’s clean water standards.

“We know that food packaging contains a lot of PFAS,” she explains. “Those plastic food packaging can then contribute microplastics into a farm environment, so I’m more concerned about the unknowns. I’m concerned about the food packaging and the industrial inputs.”

Founder of Michigan State University’s Anaerobic Digester Research Center Dana Kirk also testified.

“As my company looks to make investments and develop projects utilizing food waste, we are looking outside of the borders of Michigan, largely due to regulatory uncertainty,” he shares. “This is an unfortunate circumstance given Michigan’s diverse and strong food processing and manufacturing industries, and the state’s goal is to improve recycling, reuse, and become a more sustainable and climate friendly state.”

He says a recently shuttered regional digester is now diverting 100,000 gallons of food waste, or 15 truckloads, a day to out-of-state facilities.

EGLE legislative liaison Sydney Hart says changes to the current regulations are welcomed, but the draft proposal needs more safeguards.

She says the agency supports new legislation that prevents odors, protects water resources, and prevents chemicals from being applied on farmland.

The committee plans for additional hearings on the measure this month.