[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6270118,"mediaKeyId","3039572-8f665e1b8dbe35ab369227265cc4cfa1","parentId",3039572,"title","Linden biochar project seeks permits as PUC weighs feedstock classification and technology","audioSeconds",483,"startMs",3535000,"endMs",4018000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3039572-8f665e1b8dbe35ab369227265cc4cfa1&start=3535&end=4018","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3039572-8f665e1b8dbe35ab369227265cc4cfa1/thumbnail_3535000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6270118/Vermont/Linden-biochar-project-seeks-permits-as-PUC-weighs-feedstock-classification-and-technology","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6270118-6ea4b8c084139562febf393c3d5a1b65/orig.mp4?Expires=1770935586&Signature=RhWO9nnxKIRRQPCwAAfaIia519XwSoNdArhMYWlyf5AHy-ZNJX6xjARDpY127Dx5Rnv2j9oELq6pecpZAVsWSTZy03SZBNnCCEOOE4uoiMU2UZkpliMVOTEny2aggYvo~K3IRnlKtqQ-PuMihenDHKkLWqJGRCkjrOXq0rWO~avLZdKMAG0qNWYKXL9yHoQ0-xae5Kcwp5eLAPsQPfUpsB5eaj2F9ZPcVOr0vtF8lqd~1kAfzr1Phd3OSVkesouQu~Ow1bIZzG9fjt5A-ZFe09tyqukTSjEyKa5Wi7iA4gGC1v64NpIyW4YqoixL8buBvZOMsspvmV9gLuIGhvJoig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-17T13:01:10Z","article","Evan Zololio, owner of Synergy Biocroducts, told a legislative committee the company is developing a biochar and energy production facility in Linden and is navigating a multi-agency permitting process that the company says could take from six months to two years more.

\"We're developing a facility in Linden,\" Zololio said, describing a pyrolysis process that converts biomass — woody residuals, manure or other organic feedstocks — into biochar and a combustible gas used to run generators. He told the committee the operation would recover engine heat for drying feedstock and could produce biochar for agricultural soil amendment, water filtration and as a source of long-lived carbon.

Zololio said Synergy has obtained an air emissions construction permit and a stormwater construction general permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and it has filed for stormwater operations and sewage/water approvals for employee facilities. The company filed a Section 248 application with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) last August; Zololio said the PUC decided in October to route the application into a longer review and has since put the Section 248 application on hold while the commission studies two questions: whether the technology is comparable to prior permitted technologies and how the feedstock should be classified for standard-offer or other power-purchase treatment.

\"Number 1, is the technology appropriate?\" Zololio said. \"Number 2, how should the feedstock be classified?\" He told the committee the PUC had historically permitted anaerobic digesters and was taking additional time to assess pyrolysis systems and whether timber-derived feedstocks should be treated the same as farm-based methane projects.

Zololio said the PUC review has created financing and scheduling uncertainty. \"Timing for permitting is really important,\" he said. \"We could begin another six months of permitting. We could begin another two years of permitting.\" He told the committee that an absence of firm timelines makes it difficult to negotiate with lenders, investors and equipment suppliers.

Supporters at the hearing framed the project as a potential new market for low-grade woody material and as part of a diversified rural economy. Zololio said the company pursues a closed-loop approach where biochar can be used to sequester carbon in soils and the produced energy offsets fossil-fuel use; he described the operation as an example of a carbon-removal opportunity if the biochar is sequestered or used in long-lived products.

Committee members asked for clarity on permitting timelines and process. Zololio recommended clearer, time-bound permit responses and urged the PUC and state agencies to resolve feedstock classification to reduce uncertainty for projects that repurpose low-value forest residuals.

As of the hearing, the project had not received a certificate of public good (CPG) from the PUC; the Section 248 application was on hold pending the PUC study and any subsequent public information sessions or technical hearings.

No formal action was taken by the committee during the session about the Synergy project.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Agriculture - 2025-04-17 - 9:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Synergy Biocroducts told a legislative committee that its planned biochar and energy facility in Linden has several DEC permits but that its Section 248 application at the Public Utility Commission is on hold while the PUC examines whether the technology and feedstock classification fit existing rules.","taxTitle","Agriculture, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",35161,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6270122,"Vermont forest-products industry presses for Act 250 reforms, workforce and mill support",2588,2032000,4620000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3039572-8f665e1b8dbe35ab369227265cc4cfa1&start=2032&end=4620","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3039572-8f665e1b8dbe35ab369227265cc4cfa1/thumbnail_2032000.jpg","/articles/6270122/Vermont/Vermont-forest-products-industry-presses-for-Act-250-reforms-workforce-and-mill-support","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6270122-6593a85201ebf40e7555b990bc7e36a4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770935586&Signature=mWMPCUo9M5-ljD2sTSsqFPjrQRy7OGh93QUk6OA95F4fhoE0gSp-bIOd-zdqlPYOIOyW~E3345D8yJeEyOMWHJlGgrN3Zn8c4PGzYPvvBu3KzX1IWqSmJuuKdXuJm0boSCZ2~fXM-yHFoLXDn2Y1xuKSmx1iJx9TGjPy7wTwTOHjQF91b9oFN2UmUr7nHLD97kQRx0ao5QQR3ZcfAueNHXkvTbtm~7406ESsxIi4ViPNdsK1u9N49yOptjWNmfjC~wTKhSUt7Yl-uWEgLOqM0~iSmFR8HVFZw-0SWelyG9xIkl3I3UtFL3RkO44dNREbBXDZ~DbJzHxF~y33FuW-lA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives of the Vermont Forest Products Association told a legislative committee they want Act 250 reform, stronger vocational pipelines and targeted help for mills and loggers to keep the state’s forest-products economy viable.

Gwen Zaffoff, lobbyist for the Vermont Forest Products Association, told the committee, \"forestry is not in this committee. We think it should be.\" She described the association, founded in 1977, as representing roughly 200 members across the industry, including loggers, foresters, truckers, sawmills, manufacturing facilities and biomass processors.

The association and multiple mill owners described three recurring problems: the effects of Act 250 land-use jurisdiction at higher elevations, a shrinking skilled workforce, and the loss or underuse of local secondary processing capacity.

\"We harvest, on average across all of our timberlands about 2% of our land every year,\" said Chris Pfeiff, public affairs manager for Weyerhaeuser and a forester licensed in Vermont and Maine, describing large private timber holdings in the Northeast Kingdom and the company’s experience securing permits to operate above 2,500 feet. Pfeiff said his company spent two years to obtain a permit to harvest a roughly 200-acre area and ultimately was able to operate on less than a third of the area it sought to manage. He and others told the committee that placing high-elevation thresholds into Act 250 jurisdiction can add permitting time and costs with limited ecological benefit in some locales.

Multiple mill owners and operators described steady retirements among loggers and contractors and difficulty recruiting younger workers. They said tech and vocational education programs (CTEs) exist around the state but vary in enrollment and capacity. Colleen (no last name provided), representing a mill operation and workforce-outreach efforts, described work with tech centers to arrange job-shadowing and site visits to introduce students to careers in forestry. Mill owner speakers from Rutland-area and northern mills emphasized that housing quality, childcare and local services affect the ability to attract employees.

Owners also described transportation and market challenges: mills and contractors frequently ship pulpwood and lower-grade material out of state or to Canada because Vermont lacks some kinds of processing capacity. Several speakers urged expanding in-state secondary processing — for example, pellet or fiber-based products — to shorten supply chains and create year-round jobs.

Speakers asked the committee to convene more detailed conversations about what they described as permitting barriers and to involve industry participants earlier in policy discussions. Zaffoff indicated she would lobby to bring Act 250-related forestry topics before the committee for more formal review.

The committee extended the allotted time to hear the industry testimony and concluded the session after further remarks from Steve Hart, president of the Vermont Forest Products Association and owner of Greenmount Forestry, who noted new local investments and younger workers entering some logging crews.

The session produced no formal votes or policy changes; participants left the committee with a request to study permitting timelines and workforce initiatives further.","Representatives of the Vermont Forest Products Association and multiple mill owners told a legislative committee that Act 250 permitting, workforce shortages, housing and lack of local secondary processing are the chief barriers to keeping sawmills and logging operations viable in Vermont.","actionData","errors"]

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Linden biochar project seeks permits as PUC weighs feedstock classification and technology

Vermont forest-products industry presses for Act 250 reforms, workforce and mill support