Is Chicken Shit Burning a Shenandoah Solution?

Energy facility could cause air problems

Poultry farms in the Shenandoah Valley produce hundreds of thousands of tons of poultry litter annually, virtually all of which is used as fertilizer, a potential source of water pollution because of nutrient concentrations and other chemicals ingested by the birds. The proposed facility offers an alternative means of managing the litter as a fuel source for renewable electricity, but valley residents have expressed concern about the plant’s potential impact on air quality. The health impact assessment released today by the VCU researchers examines those impacts as well as the potential health implications from effects on truck traffic, poultry/agriculture employment and water quality.

According to the report, the proposed facility might contribute to improved water quality and may be a reasonable alternative management option for excess litter, but only if it was constructed in an area of the Shenandoah Valley that currently has low levels of air pollution. Because of the impacts on health and existing pollution levels in the valley, fine particulate matter air pollution is of particular concern.

“As recently as 2007, air quality in the valley was at a level now recognized to be unsafe by the EPA,” said Benjamin Evans, policy research manager at the VCU Center on Human Needs and member of the research team. “Since that time, air quality has improved but it still varies from a safe level to one that health experts argue is unhealthy.”

Because the energy company has not announced the exact location where it proposes to build the facility, the VCU Center for Environmental Studies used air modeling techniques to estimate impacts at a variety of locations.

I don't know enough about the particular situation in the Shenandoah to have a valid opinion on whether a chicken shit burning power plant there would be a good idea or not, and particularly when different sites could lead to different results.  But it's a hopeful sign that they're actually considering that as a factor, and not blindly pushing "alternatives" that may not be appropriate.