Methane project brings NCIP award to town
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 11:17 pm
Opposed at the outset, project brings positive attention; read about other award winners in Local News
By Larry Peirce
Banner-Press Editor
Although it faced some opposition during its development, the David City Methane Project is gaining some statewide acclaim for the city and its development partners.
The project earned received one of two Founders Awards presented at the 46th annual Nebraska Community Improvement Program celebration in Kearney on Friday.
The Founders Award annually honors outstanding intergovernmental projects.
Here's an excerpt from the NCIP press release:
"The City of David City, Butler County Development Board, Henningsen Foods Inc. and Timberline Energy LLC took home an award for the David City Methane Project that collects methane derived from decomposing garbage, and transports it through a David City-owned buried pipeline to Henningsen Foods Inc. egg processing plant, which uses it to fuel the egg drying process.
"The City first got full buy-in from the Butler County Board of Supervisors, eventually gaining a unanimous vote of support for the project. David City is the only Nebraska community that currently offers methane fuel as an alternative to natural gas."
Mayor Dana Trowbridge said that the award means much more than a shiny plaque on the wall of the City Office.
"It's this type of award that focuses positive recognition on a rural community. People take notice and hold us in higher regard than they normally would. They probably say we're going somewhere," he said.
Some concerns were raised early on about the location of the pipeline and how it would be installed. Timberline designed the pipeline to be bored under the city right-of-way so minimal trenching would occur.
Trowbridge said that tapping a source of pollution and turning it into energy was never opposed.
"That's the bottom line," Trowbridge said. "This whole project made sense from the get go. It found some struggle but it got done. Others are recognizing that it should have got done."
Early on, the development faced more than geographical obstacles.
First, the City Council heard opposition from residents along A Street, where the line was originally planned to be located.
Then the pipeline met opposition at the County Board of Supervisors, which raised concerns about setting a precedent of installing a privately owned utility line in the county road right-of-way.
The county's concerns were alleviated when the city determined that state law allows municipalities to own such a pipeline. The line took a more northerly route, coming down Road 35 and entering the city at H Street. The line proceeded west along H Street to west of Third Street, where it proceeded south to Henningsen Foods.
The City Council approved a proposal to submit a request for proposals with the Nebraska Public Power District for a methane-fueled electric power plant. So far that proposal has not been pursued by NPPD.
Trowbridge said that the use of methane to create power for some of the city's needs is the next significant development.
"I'm sincerely hoping this leads us into phase two of the methane project, electricity generation," Trowbridge said.
NCIP awards reflect outstanding community and economic development projects. A program of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, NCIP is sponsored by Northern Natural Gas, Glenwood Telephone, SourceGas, Northwestern Energy and Black Hills Energy, which help support the program year-round and provided plaques and cash prizes.
In November 2008, Gov. Dave Heineman came to David City to take part in the ribbon cutting ceremony at the methane pumping facility at the landfill.
"It's a truly remarkable collaborative effort. And it's happening right here in David City. You don't have to be in a big city to do this," Heineman said last year.
