The suit seeks civil penalties in excess of $25,000, as well as requirements that the companies employ emissions controls and obtain an Ohio EPA permit to regulate emissions.
The biodigester is an organic waste processing facility that uses anaerobic digestion to produce methane gas that is burned to produce electricity. It was built in 2013-14.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit says the facility stores waste sludge called digestate in an uncovered concrete tank, with “unpermitted emissions of ammonia,” which is classified as an “air contaminant” in Ohio.
“Although the company has obtained air pollutant permits for some aspects of its operations, the company failed to obtain the required permit for the digestate storage tank at the time it started introducing non-agricultural organic wastes into the process and thus became subject to regulation,” the lawsuit says.
A Renergy employee who answered the phone Saturday said he could not comment on the suit.
Yost’s office asks the court to impose penalties against the companies “up to $25,000 per day for each day of each violation.”
The facility at 1156 Herr Road has been a source of controversy for years, as neighbors have complained of odors, and Bath Twp. officials have pursued zoning controls.
In January, the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Renergy, upholding a ruling that the Dovetail biodigester is a public utility, exempt from township zoning regulations.
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