Controversial Greene County waste facility wins ‘heartbreaking’ court ruling: 3 things to know

Dovetail Energy, or Renergy, was awarded a permit to build two ponds that will further process the biofertilizer the site produces.

Dovetail Energy, or Renergy, was awarded a permit to build two ponds that will further process the biofertilizer the site produces.

A Greene County judge ruled a local biodigester operation is a public utility exempt from township zoning regulations, and some residents say they are worried about what will come next. Bradley Martin, who lives near the biodigester, said this ruling is “heartbreaking.”

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Here are three things to know about the issue in Greene County:

Bio-energy company Renergy operates Dovetail, an anaerobic biodigester facility at 1156 Herr Road in Bath Twp. outside of Fairborn. Anaerobic digesters are enclosed entities in which agricultural or food waste is stored and produce liquids and gases as the waste decomposes.

Some residents have protested the smell coming from the biodigester since the facility was built in 2014. Over the years, numerous residents have complained to the Ohio EPA, which has visited the site multiple times to check.

Now that the court has sided with Dovetail, some residents are concerned that the company will continue with plans to build two more storage lagoons on the Pitstick property. The proposed lagoons would store the by-product of the waste process and are on hold.

Click here to read more about the controversy.

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