Biogas project's odor questioned

CANTON — SUNY Canton's biogas project had one member of the town Planning Board questioning whether it would eliminate the smell of manure that sometimes hangs over the village.

"You're proposing a good thing, but if you're hauling manure on a daily basis, the odor is potentially going to be worse than it is now," said J. Kevin teRiele, a farmer and Planning Board member. "I'm not against a digester at all. What you're doing is commendable, but I don't see the location as good for the town of Canton in terms of odor control."

Mr. teRiele and his family worked with SUNY Canton in the past to locate a methane digester on their farm, which is just outside the village on Old DeKalb Road, but the project proved economically unfeasible. After talking with various firms about models that might work, SUNY Canton turned to NorthEast Biogas, Albany, to build a system using manure from surrounding farms and food waste from schools.

SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy, who also is a member of the Planning Board, gave an overview of the project Monday.

"It's a very proven technology," he said. "It will generate a few jobs, not a lot, but a few."

NorthEast Biogas would build and operate the roughly $4 million facility on Canton College Foundation land on Route 68 near Irish Settlement Road and pipe the methane produced from manure and food waste about a half-mile to campus, where the gas, or electricity produced from it, would help heat the school's athletic facility and make ice for its rink.

Waste deliveries would be pumped into a cement tank inside a building through a closed system, eliminating any smell.

But the odor might not improve at the farm, depending on the system of manure storage that is used, Mr. teRiele said.

His own operation uses a lagoon that crusts on top and is fed from the bottom. If it was opened daily, the odor might be worse than what the village experiences when the manure is spread periodically, he said.

Mr. Kennedy said he would bring Mr. teRiele's concerns to NorthEast Biogas, which has begun the permitting process with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The company would like to begin construction in the spring, with operation beginning in December.

"The goal for me tonight was just to introduce the proposal," Mr. Kennedy said.