A controversial industrial project has been approved in Foothills County near High River.
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas issued approval for the “construction, operation and reclamation” of a biodigester at Rimrock Feeders on Dec. 11.
Rimrock Renewables Ltd., the approval holder, is permitted to operate “a waste management facility for the collection and processing of waste or recyclables to produce fuel, and the associated power plant.”
The approval is good for 10 years and is subject to numerous terms and conditions listed in a lengthy approval document.
The project was controversial almost from the start, with area residents raising numerous concerns about the proposed facility and claiming there wasn’t enough public input.
Public notice of the plan began circulating in July 2022 and Rimrock, along with partner Tidewater Renewables, hoped to have construction finished by the end of 2023.
A group of High River and Foothills County residents started a website and Facebook group to raise awareness about their concerns, such as odours and emissions, groundwater contamination and few answers from the company behind the project that will be built about five kilometres west of High River.
Members of the group have also been fundraising for a potential legal challenge to the project.
The biodigester was initially pitched as a solution to odours coming from the Rimrock Feeders feedlot that have led to widespread complaints.
At a High River council meeting in September 2022, feedlot CFO Kendra Donnelly called it a major investment and said that “(it) would be another (example) of us investing in something that we feel will mitigate odour.”
Feedlot representatives were unable to say how much the biodigester would reduce those odours.
“But logically, we feel like we can prevent odour by putting the manure into a biodigester, which captures the gas,” Donnelly said.
The Natural Resources Conservation Board, which regulates feedlots in Alberta, told a High River council meeting in September that it had received over 1,700 odour complaints over approximately two years from High River and area residents, and was working to pinpoint multiple potential sources.
The company behind the biodigester said the project will capture greenhouse gases from livestock manure and organic food resources and convert them to renewable natural gas.
The natural gas plant would cover more than 39 hectares and includes a pond to hold liquid by-product that would be spread on fields as a fertilizer alternative.
The biodigester would be able handle up to 100,000 tonnes of livestock manure and 80,000 tonnes of food waste each year and would produce up to 610,000 GJ of renewable natural gas annually.
The cost of the project is expected to be $65 million to $70 million.
It isn't known when construction will begin or when the facility will be in operation.
