Resident cites Ohio EPA Notice of Violation at biodigester lagoon; warns of groundwater and stream risks

During Citizens Comments, resident Lori Venable reported that Ohio EPA issued a Notice of Violation on April 14, 2022, regarding the amount of digest material in a lagoon at a biodigester on Herr Road and said the site had less than the required freeboard at a prior inspection. Venable said the operator either increased the lagoon level within eight business days or was accepting material from other facilities and warned of risks to local streams and the Great Miami Aquifer if biosolids exceed permitted handling and beneficial-use capacities.

Venable urged Council to continue oversight and credited Council action with prompting the Ohio Attorney General to file suit in Greene County Common Pleas Court regarding the facility. She said Ohio EPA required daily reporting of freeboard and volumes and that the operator was prohibited from producing more biosolids until compliance was achieved. “According to Ohio EPA they must remove this,” Venable said, summarizing the enforcement notice she handed Council members and the photograph she provided of the lagoon. Council acknowledged receipt of the materials; no formal Council action was taken during the meeting beyond the public comment record.