Letter to the editor: We need to protect our air, land, and water from biodigesters, biosolids, and other threats

December 3, 2025

I attended a Freedom Township board meeting recently and heard discussions about a data center being forced into Saline Township, possible efforts to add a biodigester, expansion of local gravel mines, and even a resident asking whether any permit is needed to spread wastewater-treatment plant products on farmland (the answer is NO, by the way!).

Michigan residents, pay attention! According to EGLE, more than 2.6 million Michigan residents have private wells (including Freedom Township), and thousands of municipal systems, businesses, farms, schools, and churches also rely on groundwater. While state, county, and local governments have zoning setbacks to protect wells, few really understand where our groundwater comes from and how deep and far a well must be from septic fields, soil, clay, chemicals, etc. to keep our drinking water safe. Last April in Freedom Township heavy rains caused runoff to break through a local gravel mine’s berm and silt fences. Tons of clay silt rushed downhill, through road drains, into wetlands and Pleasant Lake. What was the impact of this to our wetlands, lake, and resident wells?

There are many new threats to our water, land, and air from PFAS, other forever chemicals, biodigesters, application of digestate and/or wastewater-treatment products on farm fields, salt, and road runoff, and dangerous chemical industrial waste sites all over the state. Freedom Township and other governments have good zoning to limit industry, mines, and biodigesters to industrial zones and away from homes. However, Michigan house and senate members are pushing new legislative bills that could add incentives and remove local zoning control to make it easier for biodigesters, data centers, solar, and mines to do business in Michigan. We need jobs, but what happened to Pure Michigan? I was taught that the most important roles of government (local to federal) was to protect the safety of our water, land, air, and residents! Our governor supports the Saline Township data center project (which will use massive amounts of local water and electricity!) and new energy projects. Saline residents and township officials opposed the data center, but threats of legal action by big industry reportedly won.

Biodigesters are being sold as a renewable energy source, which also reduces waste! How do they work? Cow manure is mixed with trucked-in food, industrial waste, and who know what else in a 4-to-1 or so ratio then heated in large tanks (like gigantic Crock-Pots!) to produce methane gas and a waste product. The process stinks and biodigesters can explode. Called digestate, this waste is often spread on farm fields and sometimes mixed with other material and sold as fertilizer or organic mix. How do we know digestate is not filled with plastics, forever chemicals, and other dangerous contaminants? Rain and melted snow can carry digestate into lakes, wetlands, rivers, and streams, including our groundwater, wells, and faucets. Many believe the technology for biodigesters is simply not ready yet for safety. Recall the failure of the Fremont digester where residents became ill from the smell and EGLE eventually shut the operation down!

State rules allow for a wide range of materials to be used on farmland. Jason Grostic is a Livingston County, Michigan, farmer who was sold on the idea of using biosolid waste from a city water-treatment plant, with EPA approval, to fertilize his crops and then fed this to his 150 cattle. The waste however, was filled with PFAS and other dangerous chemicals! This forced the closure of Grostic’s farm; loss of his cattle, use of his land, and the end of his farming days.

I moved to Freedom Township so my family and I could enjoy our retirement in a peaceful rural area of Michigan. What happened to government, residents, and industry working together as a team after learning painful lessons from closed businesses, burning rivers, and poisoned wells? I’m now certain that we residents must stand up and fight hard to pressure our local, county, state, and federal governments to protect our water, air, and land from attacks on our rural lifestyle, often by out-of-state industry that sees our rural farmland as great targets for their investment and profits. Please contact freedomtownshippreservation@gmail.com or call 517-344-5594 on how you can help protect our environment and take action before it is too late!

Lon Nordeen
Freedom Township resident

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.