Lawmakers hear competing views on bills to reclassify and streamline permits for anaerobic digesters

The Michigan House Agriculture Committee took testimony on House Bills 4257 and 4265, measures that would reclassify the byproduct of anaerobic digesters and create a streamlined permitting and reporting framework for digesters that convert manure and other organic feedstocks into renewable natural gas.

Sponsor Representative Andrew Andrews, the bill sponsor, told the committee the package is a reintroduction of prior legislation intended "to try to address some issues around the regulatory climate for methane digesters in the state of Michigan" and said, "my hope, our hope, I think, is that this will create a clean and clear process so that these digester companies...have a clear set of guidelines." He summarized provisions that would reclassify digestate under material management rather than as wastewater, limit feedstock to organic materials such as manure and food or crop waste (prohibiting plastics and cardboard), allow on‑site management where digestate is used as fertilizer, require quarterly testing with five years of records, require operators to complete approved training within a year of opening, and create a simplified permitting path with a flat fee and a requirement that EGLE approve or deny permits within 180 days — "If the 180 day timeline passes, then the permit would just be automatically approved," Andrews said.

Why it matters: the bills would change which state rules apply to digesters, how quickly permits are processed and whether compliance with…