Planning board recommends approval for anaerobic digester/natural gas facility; item to go before county commissioners

The Hardee County Planning & Zoning Board voted to recommend approval of Planning & Zoning application 25‑28, a special exception request from Johnson Hardy Holdings LLC to construct an anaerobic digester and associated natural gas upgrader, to the Hardee County Board of County Commissioners. The BOCC is scheduled to consider the application on June 19, 2025.

Representatives from Vanguard Renewables, including Matteo Sampaio, described the proposed facility as an enclosed operation that would receive contracted sources of food waste, remove packaging, and process the organic material in enclosed, heated digesters to produce biogas. The biogas would be upgraded to pipeline quality and delivered to a nearby transmission line; Vanguard said it would sell the gas to the pipeline operator and retain or sell environmental attributes to voluntary markets. The applicant also described solid and liquid digestate byproducts: solids would be mechanically separated and made available as soil amendment or bedding; liquids would be stored and spread on local cropland by a local operator identified in the presentation as Steve Johnson.

Key points raised during board discussion and by the applicant: - Trucking and throughput: the applicant described vehicle traffic of about 30 trucks per day on weekdays entering and leaving the site. The transcript contains inconsistent tonnage figures for daily throughput (both a reference to "2,000 290 tons" and later a statement of "209 tons" daily); the exact contracted daily tonnage is not specified in the record. Excess non‑recyclable packaging would be sent to landfill; the applicant said that typically equals about one trash compactor load per weekday and that alternative landfills outside Hardee County could be used if local capacity is limited. - Permits and oversight: applicant representatives said they will pursue required state permits, including an air permit, and that the Southwest Florida Water Management District and state environmental permitting processes will apply. The board noted that the special exception must be initiated within 12 months of final approval; staff clarified initiation is defined as pulling a building permit. - Odor and air quality: the applicant described multiple odor‑control measures: enclosed receiving and processing buildings, carbon filtration systems with backups, recirculation of interior air several times per hour, and an air permit process. The applicant said carbon filters are maintained and replaced on a schedule with secondary backups. - Local impacts and operations: Vanguard said the facility would employ approximately eight to ten people, operate primarily Monday–Friday with limited Saturday hours, and that some revenue would come from selling biogas and environmental attributes. The applicant said they would contract suppliers in advance and not accept uncontracted deliveries.

After questions from board members, a motion to recommend approval to the Board of County Commissioners carried by voice vote. The staff recommendation to the BOCC included the condition that the special exception use must be initiated within 12 months of final approval, with initiation occurring upon pulling a building permit.

The board noted the item will return to local review later if it proceeds to site development plan review following BOCC action.