From the Capital-Gazette:
County Council Bill 75-16 would make it possible for Veteran Compost,
an Aberdeen-based composting business, to open a location in Davidsonville
focused on composting horse manure. The company has a $350,000 state grant to
open a composting demonstration site and public education center on a 100-acre
farm owned by Homestead Gardens and plans to invest $200,000 of its own money
into the project.
"There's a tremendous opportunity to
serve the environment," said Brian Riddle, owner of Homestead Gardens.
Neighbors of the site say they're all for
composting but they worry that the regulations offered under the proposal won't
do enough to protect them against potential consequences such as odor, truck
traffic and water contamination.
"None of us is against
composting," said Dee Davis, president of the Governors Manor Community
Association, which represents a neighborhood down the street from the proposed
composting site. "We just don't know if this is the right location to do
composting."
At a recent council hearing, about a
half-dozen residents said they were not comfortable with the bill as it exists
and asked council members not to approve it unless additional protections could
be added.
Davidsonville resident Kate Fox said the
council should spend more time on the zoning change.
"I'm wondering, what's the rush on
this?" she asked. "I urge you to not pass this bill, and let's rework
it."
The bill, sponsored by Councilman Jerry
Walker, R-Crofton, would allow composting of materials classified as Tier 1 and
Tier 2 under state law on land zoned rural agricultural. Tier 1 materials
include yard waste such as leaves and twigs, while Tier 2 includes food scraps,
nonrecyclable paper, manure and compostable products.
The measure has changed several times in
response to community concerns.
Council members amended the bill to limit
the size of composting operations to 10 acres and a maximum of 25 percent of a
plot of land. They also decided to ban composting of dead animals brought from
off site, as well as industrially produced food processing materials such as
chicken and seafood scraps.
And they added a provision that would require
composting facilities to abide by fire prevention code requirements set by the
fire marshal.
Most of the setback requirements mirror the
state's: composting facilities would have to be at least 300 feet from a
dwelling not owned by the owner of the composting facility and 100 feet from
water sources such as wells and streams. The legislation would require more
distance — 100 feet as opposed to the state-mandated 50 feet — between the
facility and property lines.
Council members have until Jan. 7 to vote
the bill up or down before it expires. They will discuss the legislation at
their next council meeting, held Monday at 7 p.m. in the Arundel Center.
