LOGANTON -- A large beef processor in Clinton County has applied for a permit from that if issued would likely allow it to resume construction of its sustainable resource management facility (SRF).
Greene Twp. in June forced Nicholas Meat near Loganton to stop construction on its waste-to-energy technology project and an advanced wastewater treatment facility.
The supervisors would not approve the land development plan unless Nicholas obtained a water quality management permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The permit is needed for Nicholas to construct a 13,000-gallon sewage treatment plant addition.
Nicholas was advised in 2018 its sewage system was inadequate for its then 350 employees and 150 contract workers but was allowed to build a 20,000-gallon holding tank that was to be temporary.
Currently, wastewater from septic system is hauled offsite for treatment.
If the water quality management permit is approved, Nichols will construct a facility that will treat sanitary wastewater to Class A standards for discharge into an engineered ground water channel.
DEP, which considers the sewage treatment plant addition and the SRF as one project, instructed the township not to issue any building permits that would result in an increase in domestic sewage.
"We've lost several months that could have been spent on construction of the SRF," said Duane Eichenlaub, meat regulatory and sustainability manager.
Once DEP approves the permit Nicholas will move forward with the development of the SRF, he said. Eichenlaub expressed optimism it will be approved in 2025.
Nicholas estimates when the SRF is operational, it will reuse up to 90 percent of the water from the plant's operations, he said.
"It is our goal to see this project through, overcoming whatever obstacles we encounter along the way because we know the importance of the benefits to the Sugar Valley residents and the environment," he said.
The estimated cost of the SRF when ground was broken in 2021 was $50 million. The cost is significantly more today, Eichenlaub said.
The SRF being at a standstill has not affected the operations of the plant or the modern barn completed in May, he said.
The barn, that can hold up to 1,000 cattle, was designed to enable recycled wastewater from the SRF to be used to clean the pens.
When operational the SRF will reduce the dependence on land application of food processing residuals, the company says.
The plant was shut down for several weeks in 2021 after DEP prohibited the application of the residuals on snow-covered fields.