Murray County biowaste facility not moving forward

Residents cheering the decision by a Murray County appeals board to block Jim Freeman’s request to rezone his property for industrial development.

CHATSWORTH, Ga. (WDEF)- Last fall, residents in Murray County rallied against a proposed biowaste facility they were concerned would negatively impact their community.

After a fiery meeting in December that resulted in that project being blocked, today was the appeal of that decision.

You may remember at that December meeting former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene railing against that proposed anaerobic digester by Vanguard Renewables.

That facility would have taken waste from the Atlanta area and converted it into energy at the proposed site in southern Murray County on Barry-Bennett Road.

However, that project for the time being is dead, to the relief of many Murray County citizens who cheered following a decision by a Murray County appeals board to not renege Murray County Commissioner Noah Bishop’s decision in December to not give a letter of recommendation for that anaerobic digester.

Thursday’s hearing was initially requested by Vanguard.

However, prior to the hearing, they decided to withdraw their request, no longer pursuing building that facility in Murray County.

However, the property owner, Jim Freeman under the company name Kerkinbo, pushed forward with the appeal, arguing that Commissioner Bishop had no right to deny him from being granted industrial permits.

Freeman’s attorney, Lester Tate, argued, “You can’t say, hey we’re going to make a touchdown worth 8 points now or we’re going to make it worth 10 points now, and due process and the Constitution require that if you comply with whatever rules are in place at that time, that the government is obliged to go ahead and give you those permits.”

Freeman referenced studies conducted by a group of professors he said proved that the anaerobic digester would have been safe.

He said, “Through those studies they stated it does not contaminate the soil or the groundwater, but people just wouldn’t listen to that. They come up with these conspiracy theories that aren’t true.”

Despite Freeman’s assertions that this type of development is safe for the environment, nearby landowners like Cody Spence disagreed.

Spence said, “Ultimately, it would go into our groundwater, surface water, the aquifers, all the wells around from the neighbors. So if it’s not regulated and nothing that comes out of the other end is tested, then how are you gonna sit here and tell me it’s gonna be done in a responsible manner and then it’s safe?”

Ultimately, the appeals board affirmed that Commissioner Bishop as the main decision maker for Murray County had the right to make his decision.

Attorney Amanda Kay Seals, representing the residents of Murray County, stated, “If it violated the zoning ordinances then, it doesn’t matter who signed the letter. It doesn’t if Officer Barnes signed the letter, or if Commissioner Bishop signed the letter or if God himself signed the letter. It violated the zoning ordinance, it was against the law.”

Commissioner Bishop after the meeting told us he hopes this saga reached its conclusion Thursday.

Freeman could choose to appeal Thursday’s decision to the state.