A proposal by two northeast Iowa dairies to use an anaerobic digester has sparked a lawsuit. (Photo by Lance Cheung/U.S. Department of Agriculture)
A citizens group has filed a lawsuit against the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors alleging an improper public hearing and inconsistent application of the county zoning plan, following a decision to grant a zoning change for the operation of an anaerobic digester.
In June, Winneshiek landowners submitted an application to rezone an approximately five-acre portion of land from agricultural to industrial use to facilitate two 2.5 million gallon digesters.
The digesters would convert manure from Full Bohr and KG4 dairies in Ridgeway into natural gas and pump it into a nearby pipeline.
James Larew, an agent for the citizens group, Driftless Water Defenders, and the attorney who prepared the petition, said the clean water advocacy group spoke against the digester project at the board of supervisors’ meeting Aug. 5.
“Digesters pose a serious threat to clean water,” Larew said. “That’s something that we think should have been considered by the board of supervisors.”
Anaerobic digesters are a controversial waste management tool. Proponents argue they turn an already existing waste product into usable fuel. Opponents see it as an excuse to grow herd sizes and exacerbate existing environmental challenges with concentrated animal feeding operations.
Despite public concern and a lack of recommendation from the county zoning commission, supervisors voted 3-2 to rezone the parcel.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 30 in the county’s district court, takes issue with the decision and process at the Aug. 5 public hearing.
At the hearing, County Auditor Benjamin Steines explained that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources controlled the construction permitting for the project, and therefore the role of the county was merely to decide on the zoning issue.
“It can be built either way if the DNR issues a permit,” Steines said. “So this board is trying to decide if they want to allow additional uses on that property for the agricultural commodities that are being produced.”
The anaerobic digester would need industrial zoning to operate as intended and process the manure into gas. The proposed digester would produce energy equivalent to 1.5 million gallons of gas, per year, according to Planning and Zoning Commission minutes from the applicant’s presentation, July 9.
Chair of the Board of Supervisors Dan Langreck repeatedly interrupted public comment to reiterate that comments were to pertain to the zoning request and not the merits or consequences of digesters.
“I will let you speak as long as what you’re talking about has to do with the zoning request,” Langreck said.
Langreck shut down requests from Supervisor Shirley Vermace to “calm it down” and to “stop censoring the public.”
Vermace said this meeting was not the only time her fellow supervisors have been resistant to hearing public comment.
“Over the course of the last four years, we’ve gotten several letters that basically are saying – pleading – with these guys to bring respect, decorum and professionalism back,” Vermace told Iowa Capital Dispatch. “Frankly, it’s embarrassing.”
The lawsuit against the board alleges it denied the public full and fair opportunity to be heard.
Larew said the decision by the board of supervisors approving an amendment to the zoning ordinance to reclassify five acres of land from agricultural to industrial was an error, “both as a matter of process and substance.”
The lawsuit also argues the decision is inconsistent with the Winneshiek County Comprehensive Plan. The county zoning commission noted the same reason in its July 16 decision to deny the request for zoning change.
Minutes from the zoning commission meeting show commissioners were also concerned with the possibility of leaks from the project and at having a limited amount of time to evaluate the project.
This Zoning Commission report was not provided to Winneshiek residents who attended the hearing, though County Zoning Administrator Tony Phillips told Capital Dispatch that anyone could have requested the document.
Vermace said a lack of transparency is consistent at county meetings, and the supervisors have voted multiple times against motions to record their own meetings. The available meeting recordings are posted voluntarily to YouTube by a Winneshiek County citizen.
“Our job is to listen to them,” Vermace said. “I think oftentimes county supervisors in the state of Iowa forget that duty.”
The petition asks the court to set aside the board’s decision to rezone and that the board turn over any documents and correspondence between the county and applicants.
The Department of Natural Resources issued air quality construction permits for the project on Tuesday, and the Winneshiek County Board of Adjustments approved a Conditional Use Permit for the project Sept. 3.