L.E.A.D. asking residents to comment on proposed chicken waste facility

OTTAWA COUNTY, Okla. — A facility using chicken waste to produce a methane-based gas could be built in Ottawa County, and the window for public comment is closing.

Members of the environmental education agency called L.E.A.D. recently discovered a request for an air permit filed with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by a company called Argo Development Partners.

If granted, that permit would open the door for construction of a facility in Ottawa County that would use poultry litter for biogas.

"They're going to basically bring a lot of waste in, poultry waste, and they're going to spin it into gold. They're going to make money from it,” said L.E.A.D. Agency Executive Director, Rebecca Jim.

According to the permit application, the facility would be constructed off Highway 69 between the towns of Commerce and Quapaw.

The company is aiming to bring 164,000 tons of poultry litter into Ottawa County each year, the permit states.

“We know about tons of waste, from the chat piles that we've had to eventually try and get rid of most of it, and we're asking for more? No, I don't think so,” said L.E.A.D. Agency Vice President, Grace Goodeagle.

The permit application is raising concerns with the L.E.A.D. Agency, about not only pollution, but smell.

"This particular smell has names, and there is a permit this time, and the DEQ does not have to allow it,” said Jim.

The L.E.A.D. Agency says it's important for residents of Ottawa County to voice their concerns with the Oklahoma DEQ. They say those concerns could determine the permit's approval.

Those who live and work near the proposed biogas facility site also stress the importance of contacting the Oklahoma DEQ.

"I just thought about how it's going to ruin things around here because there's no way they can build a processing plant that wouldn't affect the environment, the air,” said Sherri Sherwood, Director of Freedom From Addiction Through Christ homeless shelter.

The deadline for public comments is January 22. You’ll find the link for public comments, HERE.

Attempts by KSN/KODE to reach Argo Development Partners for comment Friday (1/17) were unsuccessful.