OBERLIN — Energy company, EDL, is dialing back its commissioning schedule at its new renewable natural gas plant in Oberlin, off Hill Creek Drive, following numerous complaints from residents primarily centered around noise.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
The plant will eventually turn methane from Republic Services' Lorain County Landfill into renewable natural gas for use in vehicles, homes and electricity generation.
“We have not performed our expectations,” EDL North America CEO Richard DiGia told residents during an Oct. 2 Oberlin City Council Meeting. “We’ve failed you. We’ve failed ourselves. And so, this I look as a reset.”
Also, at the meeting, he said, “I take this very personally. I know we’ve disrupted people's lives. We’ve impacted people's ability to enjoy their homes comfortably. And for me, I actually lose sleep over that.”
EDL said its plant will essentially be shut down to conduct further testing and complete noise mitigation. They said this week, acoustic testing at and near their plant began to study noise patterns. Also planned are numerous sound controls, including insulation work, soundproofing to air intake systems and closing off walls inside the plant.
EDL said in a statement, “Making changes to our commissioning plan is the right thing to do at this time to ensure we meet that commitment in Oberlin. We recognize the facility has been loud and share our neighbor's frustrations.”
Since that meeting, residents report it’s been quieter, and there’s been no gas flaring.
“It was good to hear somebody come out and say, ‘Yes, we made a mistake. Yes, we have problems. And yes, we want to help you,’” said Helen Mittler, who lives near the plant.
“Do you think it was the residents not backing down that led to his realization that something’s not right?” asked News 5’s Damon Maloney.
“Well, every meeting, more people showed up, and everyone worked together,” Mittler said.
On Sept. 21, Mittler told News 5 the plant and its around-the-clock noise were preventing her and her husband from enjoying their yard. She likened it to the sound of industrial vacuums and said it was causing many sleepless nights.
“It’s been so far beyond what we had been told was going to happen. It’s intolerable,” Mittler said at the time.
At the Oct. 2 city council meeting, residents continued to voice concerns.
Patricia Marie Cindric said, “I sleep with earplugs- a pillow. And on the worst night, my headboard, which is a bookcase, vibrates.”
Joshua Brown said, “It’s a big concern for me as a first-time homeowner (and) veteran. This is basically my nest egg. Any value that this takes from my house is basically stealing from me. It’s stealing my equity. It’s stealing opportunity.”
The Ohio EPA on Sept. 26 issued a violation notice to EDL related to its gas flaring. The Ohio EPA said, “Flares shall be designed for and operated with no visible emissions… except for periods not to exceed a total of 5 minutes during any 2 consecutive hours.”
EDL said gas flaring is a temporary process of breaking down methane, into primarily water vapor and carbon dioxide, until the plant is fully operating and producing renewable natural gas. After that they said gas flaring should only occur during shutdowns, maintenance and repairs.
DiGia addressed the violation at the Oct. 2 meeting. He said, “It’s when you see small puffs of smoke that come out. The flare is designed not to do that. Ohio EPA issued a violation for that.”
DiGia said a technician visited the site to work on the flare, and it passed tests.
The Ohio EPA acknowledged improvements and said it’s “still working with the company to completely resolve EDL's flare issues.
They added there is minimal to no risk from the flare emissions.
Oberlin City Council Vice President Kelley Singleton said he shares residents' concerns.
“I am optimistic that now that they’ve shut it down (and) they’ve acknowledged the noise problems that they’re going to do the right thing,” Singleton said. “Trust but verify.”
Maloney asked him, “Is this a good project for Oberlin… a good plant to have in the city?”
“At the end of the day, yes,” Singleton said. “Oberlin is very big on sustainability, and this is a sustainability project. It will also bring good tax revenue to the city.”
EDL said once fully operational, the facility “will displace about 233,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2-e) per year that would otherwise result from combusting comparable fossil fuels. This is the equivalent of taking 46,600 cars off the road each year.”
The plant sits behind the home Ivie Kennedy has lived in for 42 years. She has no complaints.
“I don't really hear it in the house. The noise does not bother me,” Kennedy said.
Mittler said she’ll continue showing up to meetings and holding EDL’s feet to the fire.
“Until we see the final product of their mitigation,” she said.
