Peter Carbone chaired the health board meeting in the absence of Chairman Carl F. Rosenbloom. (WHAV News photograph.)
Health Board member Alexander Matolcsy made the motion to approve the proposal.
As expected, the Haverhill Board of Health Monday night gave its blessing to a farm- and food-waste-to-energy plant in Ward Hill.
Voting 2-0, health board members approved a site assignment for an anaerobic digester operation at Crescent Farm, 1058 Boston Road. Neighbor Steven D. Sardella said the plant, developed by Vanguard Renewables of Wellesley, will actually improve odor control.
“I think it’s going to change a lot of the odors that do happen here,” Sardella said.
Sardella, who is the farm’s closest neighbor, explained existing open manure piles will now be enclosed. “This particular facility that they are building here in Ward Hill; it’s going to be all tanks and underground.”
In fact, John Hanselman, Vanguard’s executive chairman, previously explained, odors are intentionally contained because they are actually fuel for the generator. Naturally occurring methane gas will be burned to produce a megawatt of electricity. The city will buy the electricity, initially at a rate of 13 cents-per-kilowatt hour.
Byproducts of the process are used back on the farm as natural fertilizer.
Peter Carbone chaired the health board meeting in the absence of Chairman Carl F. Rosenbloom. Member Alexander Matolcsy made the motion to approve the proposal. The project still needs a final set of conditions from the state Department of Environmental protection.
Originally, because it is part of an existing agricultural use, the anaerobic digester appeared to require only a building permit from the city. However, the health board adopted regulations last fall, giving it authority over the plan and invited developers in January to apply for a permit.
Besides improved odor control, Sardella said, another benefit will be a pavement replacing a dirt driveway.
“When it gets dry in the summer, with the prevailing wind, a lot of people plus all of the trucks going up and down, the cars get dusty and the people can’t leave their windows open.”
Farm owner C. Michael “Mike” Davidowicz has said the additional truck traffic will be negligible compared with existing farm-related traffic.
Really funny to see the difference with this proposal as opposed to the other proposal brought to the city by the Mayor and then abandoned by him. Good thing he wasn’t involved in this deal, it may have cost the farmer a half a million too !
As usual it’s a Good move by board of health Mr Davidowicz is an experienced farmer who always gets the job done. Expect nothing but the very best from this green operation