Hardee County approves special exception for anaerobic digester on Lochler Road

The Hardee County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved a special exception for Johnson Hardy Holdings LLC to construct an anaerobic digester facility on about 160 acres at the south terminus of Lochler Road, east of Bowling Green.

Community Development Director Todd Miller told the board the property is zoned A-1 (agriculture) and that Planning & Zoning and staff had found the application met the special-exception standards in Unified Land Development Code section 9.08.04. Miller said the development would include two enclosed digesters, a warehouse/unloading building, office space and storage tanks; deliveries would be limited to 6 a.m.–6 p.m. and staff estimated about 30 truck trips per day. Miller also recommended a condition of approval requiring initiation of the special exception within 12 months (initiation defined as pulling an operating permit).

Applicant representatives explained operational and environmental controls. Matteo Sampaio and engineer Drew Wishman said incoming food waste would be unloaded in a receiving building where packaging and inorganics would be removed; liquids would be pumped to a hydrolysis tank, heated to about 105°F for five days, then fed to digesters that retain material about 30 days at ~105°F. The resulting biogas was described as roughly 65% methane and 35% CO2; onsite equipment called an upgrader would raise methane concentration to 97%+ for pipeline injection to the Gulf Stream line to the north. The applicant said a short initial commissioning period (about six months) will require flaring of gas until the upgrader reaches steady operation.

The applicant said solids separated from the digestate would be usable as a soil amendment or farm bedding and that recovered liquid would be stored onsite — the storage tanks were described as sized for up to six months of holding — and then land-applied on the applicant’s fields by Steve Johnson under a fertilizer license. The applicant said manure would make up only about 1% of the feedstock and that biosolids/sewage sludge would not be accepted. Speakers described multiple permitting steps already in progress or required, including a state air-permit (for emissions and a scrub/biofilter), environmental resource permitting for stormwater, and solid-waste permitting; the applicant said all incoming loads would be contracted and tested before delivery.

Commissioners asked about safety and nuisance risks. The applicant said digesters are enclosed and operate at low pressure (about 5 psi), the site will include carbon/biofilters to reduce odors and hydrogen sulfide, and there will be continuous monitoring and redundant carbon filters. A flare was described as the emergency device for excess gas. The applicant also described hiring plans — about 100 construction jobs during peak construction and roughly 8–10 permanent operations jobs — and said feedstock sourcing is typically within a roughly 100‑mile radius for financial feasibility.

Planning staff recommended approval with the time‑limit condition and the board voted to approve the special exception (motion by Commissioner Flores; second by Commissioner Wells). The board made no additional conditions during the vote. The permit and operations will be subject to county and state environmental and solid-waste permit approvals and any required right‑of‑way work on the single‑lane bridge accessing Lochler Road, which the applicant said it would replace at its own cost with a construction and maintenance agreement.

The board’s action was the outcome of a quasi‑judicial hearing; staff and the applicant entered reports and testimony into the record and witnesses were sworn. The approval authorizes county staff to move forward with required permits and agreements but does not itself substitute for or grant any required state permits.