Jeff Nutting presenting, there will be a further update at the Town Council meeting on Weds.
2 changes to allow the single use for this property
would put out an Request For Proposal (RFP)
Franklin would maintain ownership and lease the land
maintain a large buffer area, visited a similar plant and there is no noise
potentially allow for installation of solar panels
did visit one in Rutland, MA, more of a dairy operation not what we want to use here
did also visit Fremont, MI which is more like the use planned for here
possible permit process to commence by Jan 2014 with construction completed late 2016
33 acres the site of the sewer beds until 1978
the digester is not a sewer plant, negative air pressure to control
income to the town for the lease
est between $500,000 to $1M per year
21e assessment was performed to ensure a clean bill of health for the property
no environmental issues to be concerned with currently on the property
buildings are 40 foot tall, sited along Pond St, would effectively be hidden on the lot
Fremont 3 megawatt operation, compared to the proposal talked of about 6-8 megawatts
decibel level could not exceed 45 which is the talking voice sound
food waste creates methane gas which burns to create electricity to send out to the grid
lab operates to maintain proper pH levels
Fremont MI is the home of Gerber Baby food, so bad batches and other waste comes to the plant
the company operates in about a 50 mile radius, they operate their own trucks
approx 30-50 trucks per day
James Doucett, Deputy Director Business Compliance Division, BWP, MassDEP
Martin Souberg, Deputy Commissioner, MassDep
an important element in the solid waste master plan, take as much as can be recycled out of the stream
attempting to reduce 355 solid tons per year of solid food waste
banning disposal of food waste from large food operations, to encourage recycling
diversion from land fills, reduction of green house gases
taken steps to stream line permitting, state also looking to develop capacity at state owned site to promote the process
food waste = 15-20% of the disposal totals
could include other yard and agricultural waste with the food waste
publicly owned treatment works (POTW)
4 farm-based digesters in development, Germany has thousands of these units
two types of systems, wet or dry
Franklin's would be a dry system
dry means operating into a negative air pressure to maintain the smells within the facility
28 day batch cycle
"what would happen in case of an upset condition"
Michelle, Beech St
all the input sounds lovely, I want to know what all the exports will do
Franklin is not the place to be doing this in a residential area
Matt Young, Eldon Drive
concerned about the trucks, $1M is not that much money
I think the risk and reward is not that great, whose going to pay for the roads
I am sure there are many more issues, I think this is a bad choice
Nutting - the power plant would fit inside this room
maybe the travel for the trucks wouldn't be so far as we are more dense
Glenn Jones, Town Councilor
Chair of Economic Development Committee
was a sewer bed, an office park fell through, the particular property is a good fit for this use
one of the issues the town faces is balancing the budget, the $1M would help towards fixing fixing our roads and other things, to generate revenue
the power plants in our area communities dump out more than this plant would
this plant has been used throughout Europe, very few reports of incidents
Judy Pfeffer, Town Councilor
waste ban regulation has not yet gone out for comment
James - what we are hoping to provide is an incentive for creating additional waste uses
Judy - if it isn't built yet, how do we know it is going to get here? Who owns the trucks to bring it here? What about the truck traffic in a residential area?
While the ban is not yet out, it is coming.
The state is also identifying its own sites, including Norfolk, MA
Andy Bissanti, we as Councilors still have questions and reserve the right to make our comments and decisions
"The issue is the same as with a natural gas fired furnace"
"The methane would go up into the air, it is lighter than air"
If a truck spilled, it would be containing food waste
Halligan - There will be traffic whatever goes there, I am not so concerned about that. Do we have a fire department trained for this, or special equipment for this?
Nutting - Franklin belongs to a regional hazmat unit, I don't see us investing anything in this
Halligan - will the delivery trucks be sealed delivery trucks? If they can be guaranteed to be enclosed, that would be good. The main thing is the revenue, I would like to see something where we have a guaranteed fixed lease.
Nutting - the proposed zoning change allows the Town Council to have an RFP. The real dollar answers will come with the RFP's, this is no different for an RFP to sell the land. I can't sit here today and guarantee a price. There are lots of checks and balances along the way. The zoning, the site plan, the Council RFP process, the intent is to allow the plan to continue so the Council can have their say. This is only the beginning of a long process.
Halligan - my main concern is for safety
Nutting - if it is a tanker it is sealed, I don't see why that couldn't be included in the RFP.
Halligan - the towns out west are getting these as a right from their farm, we want to avoid that here
Halligan - as a resident and property owner, I would donate $5000 to get an independent appraisal for this to be explained to both Board.
Rondeau - what is the typical life expectancy?
Nutting - 30-40 years, other than replacing part, there not alot to do
Rondeau - when the facility is up and done, are we going to be stuck with another NuStyle?
Nutting - that would have to be part of the process
Rondeau - what size would the tanks be?
David - Would traffic studies be done?
Nutting - I think you would be looking at that, you usually look at peak hours. You could have a traffic study. That would be a planning board issue.
David - wet land?
Nutting - 20 plus acres of upland, some wetlands, we would have to remove the sewer things
David - what about adding a ramp of i495
Nutting - given the federal government, that would be a 10 year process
Town of Bourne did an RFP process and they are farther along, they have thought about and have worked into the process
Nutting - we have a copy of the Bourne RFP and one from Lexington. There are not going to be three dozen of these in the Commonwealth. Once several of these are built, that would take the food waste off the capacity proposed
Halligan - why is Franklin so site specific?
Nutting - we are looking for use for the site, investigating all the things that may or may not happen. The power plant went up in Bellingham, and other than seeing the steam in the air in winter, how many know it is really there?
Haven't heard of any exposures to any of the gases? Why haven't we heard of any answers?
Town of Fairhaven put in two digesters at their waste water facility
here to make a vote to recommend or not for the zoning change, whatever we do the Town Council still has their say
Padula - the town has a revenue issue, we have tried before to utilize this land, the residential folks will be required to separate the food waste in about 2016-17 to help serve these type systems
Martin (MassDEP) We think this is where we are going to get a large benefit from the institutional approach
We are encouraging this, we also have a permitting role to ensure they meet the standard for air quality. A number of agencies are looking for this
Nutting - there are seven more steps along this process, before the Town ultimately making this decision, we have to ensure for the health and welfare of the residents. I am not a scientist so I can not answer those questions.
Nutting - if the company didn't own the trucks, we can still set the standards on what can be used, we have a right to work with the contractor to determine what type the vehicles are
Padula - for $500,000 annually, for the quality of life that would change? That intersection will be a disaster with 80 trips a day and it is already bad today.
Dahlstrom - definition of anaerobic digestion bylaw (see copy of bylaws as proposed) and change to 185-7 with an allowed by right
Nutting - if that property ever gets developed, 40 vehicle trips will be minuscule. Sequencing the intersection will be needed under any circumstances, traffic will be an issue no matter what happens there..
Halligan - I don't think I am for the project or against the project, I just am not educated on this enough. It is all too new for me.
motion to recommend, not seconded
motion to not recommend, seconded, approved with one no
motion to not recommend, seconded, approved with one no
This does go to the Town Council for discussion but the Planning Board did NOT recommend it
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