CUMBERLAND – The Board of Supervisors referred several permits to Cumberland's Planning Commission for review concerning the Industrial Development Authority's proposed business park on Tuesday evening.

Even though the rezoning process is not complete for the IDA's business park, a prospective renewable energy company has already requested and submitted applications to locate to the park.

The IDA has requested that the County rezone the business park property on Poorhouse Road and has been working with the prospective business in finding a location to operate.

Ag Renewable Resources LLC (President Donald Bishop) is a new company working to process poultry waste into renewable energy and wants to locate the facility in the County's proposed business park.

In order to construct and operate the company in Cumberland, Ag Renewable Resources has requested that the County allow adding “manufacture of fertilizer” as a permitted use in the proposed M-1 (industrial) zoning at the business park. The company also submitted a conditional use permit application to the Planning and Zoning Office to operate the poultry energy facility within one of four lots proposed for the business park.

Ag Renewable Resources proposes to construct an enclosed poultry processing facility that would collect poultry waste and food waste, grass clippings, and food processing waste, according to Andrew Sorrell's, planning and zoning administrator, staff report provided to the Board for consideration.

If completed, this would be the first project of this type in Virginia.

According to the application, the materials are proposed to be blended with water and introduced into a digester tank where the material would undergo “thermophilic anaerobic digestion.”

The process would generate electricity.

Cumberland's IDA officially closed on the business park property and submitted the rezoning application request to change the property from its current A-1 and RA-1 (agricultural and recreational area access zoning) to M-1, industrial, in order to develop the Cumberland Business Park.

The property is located on the west side of Route 728, Poorhouse Road, near the County's maintenance shop and animal pound.

Michael Cooper, assistant administrator of community development, gave a presentation to the Planning Commission on Monday, September 27 related to the “pending” business park project.

“I was talking to Michael Cooper last week about…the request for rezoning,” said Supervisor Van Petty, District Three, during the Board meeting. “I know that in conversations that with the grant that they (Ag Renewable Resources) have there are some conditions that certain stuff has to happen by the end of this year.”

Petty said that his concern was that the County's process would take longer than the end of the year timeline.

“I would propose that the Board look at and maybe ask the Planning Commission to consider holding a joint public hearing to sort of get this zoning issue out of the way-to rezone this property with the industrial park because if we don't…we could maybe lose some money,” continued Petty about the rezoning application that was submitted to the County by the IDA (REZ 10-02).

After some discussion, the Board voted to send the three referrals to the Planning Commission for review.

“…The IDA would have an interest to see that the public hearing is conducted on November 9…,” advised Cooper. “…From a due process standpoint, I think it's important to note that the Industrial Development Authority has given a presentation on the proposed rezoning to the Planning Commission once.”

The second opportunity for the Commission to review the IDA's business park rezoning application would be on Monday, October 18, he continued.

“I just think it's important to note that this project has, and by the time it gets through rezoning public hearing would have had, three reviews by the Planning Commission…,” noted Cooper about the recommendation process.

According to Sorrell, by officially referring the applications to the Planning Commission, the planners now have 100 days to provide the Board with a recommendation. Otherwise, he said, the Board can take action on the applications without the Commission's recommendation.

Later, to go a step further, the Board formerly requested, and secured with a vote, that the Commission meet with the Supervisors for a joint public hearing during the Board's regularly scheduled meeting on November 9 in order to secure the IDA's rezoning application decision as soon as possible

“I will present that request to the Commission at their meeting on October 18,” advised Sorrell after the meeting on Wednesday. “It is likely that the other applications for the code amendment and the CUP will need to be reviewed at a yet to be established meeting the Planning Commission will need to set at the end of October. At that meeting, the Planning Commission will consider when to conduct the public hearing on the applications submitted by ARR (Ag Renewable Resources).”

Ag Renewable Resources

Within the conditional use permit request was background information detailing Ag Renewable Resources' taking poultry waste and other feedstock and making it into renewable energy and soil amendment products.

The group was formed by a group of local poultry and cattle farmers looking for ways to reduce environmental impacts, develop renewable energy, recycle by-products, and improve bio-security for agriculture, according to the information.

Partners in the project include the County's IDA, Virginia Tech, and the Cumberland County Farm Bureau. The Virginia Cooperative Extension, PEPCO Energy Services, and Longwood University Small Business Development Center has also assisted throughout the process.

According to the conditional use permit application, the proposed energy project would conform to all covenants, restrictions, and regulations that were adopted in a resolution by the County's IDA. Those conditions are recorded with the property's deed and will run with the land.

Also detailed in the application are plans to operate this facility on one of the business park's proposed four lots.

The proposed digester facility would consist of a 22,000 square foot receiving building; a 8,000 square foot control building; two digester tanks; a recycle tank; a mix tank; an enclosed reception pit; six above ground methane tanks; three external generators; a scale house; and parking; and entrance access.

The Cumberland energy project narrative states that, “this is the first process of its type to be used in Virginia, and its patented design, while used extensively in Europe, has not yet been commercially constructed in the United States.”

Regarding sound, the “primary source of noise from the operation of the facility would be generators.”

The business has also proposed to implement several measurements to limit odor at the site.

The trucks that transport the digester fuel to the facility would be enclosed; the receiving building would be enclosed; the reception pit would be equipped with a lid that is only opened to load material; and the digester tanks would also be completely enclosed.

The proposed facility is set to consume 14,600 tons of poultry litter per year.

Referrals

As an overview, the Supervisors officially referred the rezoning, code amendment, and conditional use permit applications to the Commission for review.

The first was REZ 10-02 submitted by the IDA; the second referral was for Code Amendment 10-11, which requests to amend the County's zoning ordinance to allow for the “Manufacture of fertilizer” use, Sorrell provided to The Herald.

The third was for CUP 10-03 requesting that the fertilizer and electric power generating facility use be allowed within the M-1 zoning.

“The CUP is contingent upon the approval of the code amendment and the rezoning,” stated Sorrell about the requests from Ag Renewable Resources.