MENTZ, NY - Construction on a manure lagoon which was being built on land off Maiden Lane Road in the Cayuga County town of Mentz has been stopped.
CH4 Generate Cayuga, LLC, which is building the manure storage lagoon, stopped work voluntarily after learning the state Department of Environmental Conservation was issuing a violation, CH4 officials told Syracuse.com/The Post Standard.
The company plans to move ahead with the permit process.
An anaerobic lagoon or manure lagoon is an outdoor earthen basin filled with manure that then undergoes anaerobic respiration, which converts the organic compounds into carbon dioxide and methane. The liquid produced is used as fertilizer.
CH4 has an agreement with the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District to operate the digester.
In late July, the DEC issued a notice of violation to CH4 for starting construction of a storage lagoon without required DEC approvals, said Erica Ringewald, speaking for the DEC.
Ringewald confirmed that CH4 Generate Cayuga LLC voluntarily stopped construction. Additional documentation is required and then the DEC will review the proposed project to ensure it meets all state rules and environmental standards, she said.
Residents who live near the proposed lagoon have formed a group and a Facebook page to oppose the project. Residents say the land is owned by the Hourigan Dairy Farm but leased to CH4.
The area off Maiden Lane Road in Mentz, in Cayuga County, where the lagoon is slated to be built.
Neighbors say the project will ruin the value of their homes, threaten their groundwater, the environment and destroy the roads.
Sherry Menotti, one of the residents opposed to the project, said while residents are relieved at the shutdown," they know the company is filing for the proper permits so the project can continue.
"We are still in a fight for our lives out here on the road which no agency will protect, about to face 10 millions of manure dumped onto a hill of limestone," Menotti said. "And we will never be able to sell these houses, i assure you."
Residents have met with town officials, but the DEC has jurisdiction over these manure storage lagoons.
The group has started a Facebook page, Mentz Opposed to Manure Lagoon.