(Marin) Grand jury calls for methane plant; critics say its full of hot air...

by Jason Walsh, Pacific Sun -

A Marin Civil Grand Jury’s call for the County to partner with Redwood Landfill to create a methane gas-to-energy plant is leaving some environmentalists with a bad taste in their mouths.

In its latest report released this week, “Garbology in Marin: Wasted Energy,” the grand jury, citing the need for a local landfill that can produce local energy, says the Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management joint powers authority should join landfill officials in making a methane plant a “reality”… “as soon as feasibly possible.”

And, despite a legal challenge to the Redwood Landfill’s ongoing quest for an additional 19-year operating permit, the grand jury says it “supports the extension of the landfill’s life.”

The landfill’s current permit allows operations to continue up to 2022; its application for a new permit to manage the landfill through 2032 was successfully challenged in court by the group No Wetlands Landfill Expansion. In her ruling striking down the validity of the environmental impact report accompanying Redwood’s application, Judge Lynn Duryee cited a lack of information on the cumulative effect of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions; the possible increased non-cancer health impacts; mitigation of groundwater contamination; and suggestions for an alternative waste disposal location. The case is currently being appealed by Redwood owners Waste Management Inc.
Redwood’s proposed energy plant—which would be abandoned if the landfill’s lease is not extended—could convert enough methane to power between 6,000 and 8,000 Marin homes, according to the grand jury report.

But critics of methane plants say they allow too much methane to escape into the atmosphere. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is the second most prevalent human-produced greenhouse gas emitted in the United States, behind carbon dioxide. Yet, it is 21 times more powerful in its “warming” effect than CO2.

Despite the dangers of methane, the grand jury concluded its report by saying that if Redwood Landfill closes, “Marin’s carbon footprint will increase and rates may also be increased if our waste is hauled to more distant landfills” and that the grand jury “hopes that [Redwood Landfill] will continue to enhance its operations in Marin County regardless of the outcome [of litigation].”