Proposal for biogas plant at High River feedlot faces pushback from residents

A group of High River residents is pushing back against plans to add a $70-million biogas facility to a nearby feedlot operation, worried it will make the odour coming from the property worse.

Rimrock Cattle Feeders Inc. proposes to build a large biodigester facility next to the feedlot that it operates on the site. It will process manure into what it calls renewable natural gas and something called digestate, a fertilizer and soil amendment.

Last fall, Rimrock's parent company, Tidewater Renewables Ltd., signed a deal with FortisBC for the purchase of the gas, though the facility has yet to be approved and is still being reviewed by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

"It will not only reduce odours significantly but also provide a safe and renewable energy source for many years to come," project manager John Del Mastro said during a presentation to Foothills County in January.

But some people who live in the area aren't convinced — and nearly 2,000 have signed a petition against the project, which would be located on a property roughly six kilometres away from the town's western boundary.    

"Our concern is, if we're smelling all of this putrid stench now, what are we going to be exposed to when you have a biogas plant just down the road?" asked Laura Brankovich, who lives on the northwestern edge of High River.     

Future model for feedlots

If approved later this year, the proposed biodigester will process up to 80,000 tonnes of manure and 60,000 tonnes of trucked-in organic waste every year, according to the company's application to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

While the project is still under review, it has already secured $13.4 million in funding from two grants from Emissions Reduction Alberta, a provincial agency that funds clean technology solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The agency says the system, which includes rolled-compacted concrete flooring for the pens to help manure collection, along with the biodigester, will serve as a model for other feedlots in Alberta. 

The agency says the biodigester will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by producing renewable natural gas, displacing fossil natural gas and by diverting organic waste from the landfill.   

"It's great to see all of the innovation happening right here in Alberta … and ag is no exception as reducing methane emissions while producing an enhanced fertilizer is a win-win," Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz said in a social media post after a luncheon at the Rimrock facility this month.

A spokesperson for the company said she was unavailable to comment. However, the project team told Foothills County in January it expects the project will reduce odours by 42 per cent.      

Yet some residents are more than wary about the project after years of living near the feedlot operation. They don't want to see the biogas facility proceed. 

Hundreds of complaints

One of the feedlot's most vocal opponents is Benita Estes, whose home is about 200 metres from the feedlot's property. 

"You're torturing a community," she said of the smells wafting from the feedlot.  

"You've got people here who have bought and are retired, who'd like to sit out on their decks, who would like to have their families over for barbecues, who would like to entertain, or at least, you know, enjoy the comforts of their space, and they can't go outside."

The residents' campaign against the project includes the website, Stop That Smell, which encourages residents to file odour complaints with the Natural Resources Conservation Board, the agency responsible for regulating confined feeding operations in the province.

In the past year, the board has received 1,200 odour complaints about the facility. 

The regulator purchased a new odour testing device in response to the complaints. It made several visits to the feedlot, some unannounced. It's met with residents who've filed complaints.

"We're collecting a lot of data, we're talking to a lot of people," said Kevin Seward, a compliance manager with the board. "We've been on site numerous times. We're looking at different management practices at the feedlot. So we are doing a lot." 

The board says preliminary monitoring data collected through May and June shows there's no risk to human health, with readings for ammonia, volatile organic carbons and carbon disulfide all within acceptable guidelines.

It says it will continue to monitor odours in the area in the coming weeks with a second new air quality monitoring station along with 14 passive sensors. 

"People [who live in High River] are telling us this year that the odour is not as bad this summer as it was last summer, it's not as pungent," Seward said. 

Some opponents of the project told CBC News they felt gutted by the environment minister's decision to attend the luncheon at the Rimrock facility and then post on social media that the proposal is a win-win when the company's project has yet to receive final approval.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Schulz said the minister is not involved in the review process, and "we look forward to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas releasing their decision in the coming months."

"We have complete faith in the province's robust regulatory review process," the statement said. "This work is done by the department, as the regulator, not the ministry."

In the meantime, Estes intends to battle on.

She said the odour data collected by the Natural Resources Conservation Board doesn't provide her comfort as the equipment is new and its findings are preliminary. She said her campaign to stop the biogester project will continue. 

So far, more than $12,000 has been raised to cover legal costs. Their goal is $75,000.

A decision on the fate of the biodigester is expected later this year.