Bioenergy Devco, LLC, will expand its Bioenergy Innovation Center, in Seaford, to produce renewable natural gas from organic wastes. The project required multiple permits from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). Those permits have now been issued.

Information on each permit process, including applications and supporting materials, is found below. The issued permits are posted in the section for the division that issues them.

DNREC held an an informational community workshop focused on the expansion project on Sept. 28, 2022. The information session provided information about the project and the DNREC permitting process and provided a forum for community engagement.

The Department held a public hearing on Oct. 26, 2022, to take comments on all of the proposed permits for the project before any final determinations were made by the Department. Closed-captioning, in languages including English and Spanish, is available as an option for participants in both the workshop and hearing.

News Releases

DNREC to Host Community Workshop on Proposed Biogas Facility in Southern Delaware (Aug. 22, 2022)

El DNREC Organizará un Taller Comunitario Sobre la Instalación de Biogás Propuesta en el sur de Delaware (22 de agosto de 2022)

DNREC to Issue New Permits for Expansion of Bioenergy DevCo’s Seaford Facility, Including Biogas Production (Sept. 6, 2023)

El DNREC emitirá nuevos permisos para la ampliación de las instalaciones de Bioenergy DevCo en Seaford, incluida la producción de biogás (6 de septiembre de 2023)

DNREC Ap Bay Nouvo Pèmi pou Ekspansyon Santral Seaford Bioenergy DevCo a, Ki Gen Ladan Pwodiksyon Byogaz (6 septanm 2023)

Legal Notices

Hearing Presentations

DNREC Presentation

Applicant’s Presentation

The Project

The Bioenergy Innovation Center, located at 28338 Enviro Way, is currently permitted to accept organic waste from approved poultry industry sources for composting.

The expansion includes construction of an anaerobic digestion system, a wastewater pretreatment system and a biogas upgrading plant. There will also be an emergency generator. Byproducts from the process include pipeline-grade renewable natural gas (RNG) and digestate, which would be dewatered and used in the adjacent compost facility. Biodevco has discussed marketing this product in the future, as a soil amendment. However, this would require a Distribution and Marketing permit that was not part of the approved permit applications.

Once fully built, the facility will have the capacity to receive and process up to 250,000 tons per year of permitted organic waste.

Required Permits

The project required permits from three DNREC divisions:

A Resource Recovery Permit from the Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances

• Resource Recovery Permit

Two Natural Minor Permits from the Division of Air Quality

• Anaerobic Digester Permit
• Emergency Generator Permit

Two Wastewater Facility Construction Permits from the Division of Water

• Anaerobic Digester Permit
• Wastewater Treatment System Permit

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Resource Recovery Permit

Bioenergy Development Company has received a Resource Recovery Permit from the DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances to construct an anaerobic digestion system, biogas upgrading plant, and compost facility.

The facility is designed to process poultry industry wastes into digestate, pipeline-grade renewable natural gas (RNG), and compost. Wastes the facility will accept include poultry litter, hatchery waste, dissolved air flotation (DAF) solid cake and liquid sludge, offal, waste activated sludge, agricultural residuals (e.g., soybean husks, etc.) from feed operations, and fats, oils, and greases.

The capacity of the proposed facility is 250,000 tons per year.

Resource Recovery Permit Application Materials

Resource Recovery Permit Application Checklist

Application Table of Contents

Draft Resource Recovery Permit

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Air Quality Natural Minor Permits

Bioenergy Development Company has been issued two Natural Minor Permits from the Division of Air Quality to construct one natural gas fired emergency generator with a standby power rating of 1,082 KW (1,451 HP) and four anaerobic digesters with associated biogas upgrade and air pollution control equipment.

The engine used in the emergency generator is certified to comply with, and adhere to, U.S. EPA regulations under the provisions of Subpart JJJJ to 40 CFR 60 and the applicable emissions standards located therein.

The permit (APC-2022/0048-CONSTRUCTION) outlines all of the requirements necessary for the construction of the generator.

The facility will anaerobically digest poultry industry liquid and solid cake DAF waste, poultry litter, and bioreactor sludge from the on-site wastewater plant. Biogas generated during the anaerobic digestion process will be filtered and conditioned to meet the standards required for use in the natural gas pipeline grid. The digestate produced will be dewatered and processed at the adjacent compost facility. A series of filtration equipment will be used to refine the gas and separate unwanted compounds from the product gas stream. The unwanted gas stream will be combusted by a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) or, in the event of equipment maintenance or excessive biogas production, a flare prior to emission into the atmosphere.

Emissions from the regenerative thermal oxidizer associated with the anaerobic digestion process will be permitted to emit 0.017 tons per year (TPY) of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), 1.104 TPY of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 0.023 TPY of particulate matter (PM), 0.002 TPY of sulfur oxides (SOx), and 0.258 TPY of carbon monoxide (CO) by Permit: APC-2022/0049-CONSTRUCTION. Emissions from the flare associated with the anaerobic digestion process will be permitted to emit 0.001 tons per year (TPY) of VOCs, 4.5 TPY of NOx, 0.002 TPY of PM, 0.001 TPY of SOx, and 20.6 TPY of CO by Permit: APC-2022/0049-CONSTRUCTION.

Air Quality Natural Minor Permit Application Materials

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Wastewater Facility Construction Permits

Bioenergy Development Company has received Wastewater Facility Construction Permits from the Division of Water to construct an anaerobic digestion system and a wastewater pretreatment system as part of their expanded resource recovery facility.

The anaerobic digestion system and wastewater pretreatment system includes three 0.208-million-gallon pretreatment tanks and four 1.95-million-gallon fermentation tanks, a membrane bioreactor system (MBR), a 0.198-million-gallon anoxic tank, a 0.412-million-gallon aerobic reactor, a 0.198-million-gallon ultrafiltration feeding tank and ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis treatment systems.

The treated wastewater will be pumped and hauled to the Seaford wastewater treatment and disposal facility.

In the future, and subject to a separate permitting process, it is anticipated that a sewer pump station and force main will be connected to a Seaford Road force main being discussed by the City of Seaford.

Wastewater Facility Permit Application Materials

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Secretary’s Order and Supporting Documents

Secretary’s Order No. 2023-MULTI-0022 — Approval of Permit Applications of Bioenergy Development Company, LLC (“BDC”) for expansion of their existing organic waste composting operation to include an anaerobic digestion system, a wastewater pretreatment system and a biogas upgrading plant, located at 28338 Enviro Way, Seaford, Delaware, as follows: One (1) Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances Resource Recovery Permit; Two (2) Division of Air Quality 7 DE Admin. Code 1102 Natural Minor Permits; and Two (2) Division of Water Wastewater Facility Construction Permits
(Effective Date: Sept. 6, 2023)

Hearing Officer’s Report

• Appendix A – BDC DNREC Exhibits Page
• Appendix B – BDC Technical Response Memo (March 29, 2023)
• Appendix C – BDC Technical Response Correction Memo (April 26, 2023)
• Appendix D – Addendum TRM (July 18, 2023)
• Appendix E – DWHS (Resource Recovery) revised Draft Permit (as referenced in the TRM as “App. I”)
• Appendix F – DW (Construction of Anaerobic Digester) revised Draft Permit (as referenced in the TRM as “App. II”)
• Appendix G – DW (Construction of Pretreatment System) revised Draft Permit (as referenced in the TRM as “App. III”)
• Appendix H – DAQ (Construction of natural gas-fired emergency generator) revised Draft Permit (as referenced in the TRM as “App. IV”)
• Appendix I – DAQ (Construction of anaerobic digestion plant) revised Draft Permit (as referenced in the TRM as “App. V”)
• Appendix J – DAQ Memorandum from Jordan Matthews, P.E., to Amy Mann, P.E. (March 20, 2023), detailing the DAQ’s extensive review of both DAQ permit applications submitted by BDC
• Appendix K – BDC Addendum Corrective Memo (September 5, 2023), providing additional clarity for the benefit of the Record with regard to clerical corrections made to Appendix B noted above.

Related Topics:  air quality, bioenergy, composting, permitting and regulation, public comment, public hearing, public workshop, resource recovery, waste and hazardous substances, water