OABA President and CEO Chris Henney Testifies Before Anaerobic Digester Task Force

Upon invitation from Anaerobic Digester Task Force chairman Sen. Cliff Hite (R-Findlay), Ohio AgriBusiness Association President and CEO Chris Henney presented testimony regarding the nature of cooperatives and how this business structure might be used to encourage the construction and use of anaerobic digesters in Ohio.

The Anaerobic Digester Task Force was created under HB276 (Bucy-Gentile) to help the state determine whether or not to encourage farmers and industries to use anaerobic digesters in Ohio. Task force members include Sen. Hite, Rep. Jim Buchy (R-Greenville), Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Township Association, Quasar Energy Group, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The group was charged with putting together recommendations relating to five areas:

1. The use of anaerobic digesters and the impact of anaerobic digesters on the state.
2. How the use of anaerobic digesters may impact the environment.
3. How the use of anaerobic digesters is regulated in other states.
4. The use of anaerobic digesters in a cooperative setting.
5. The overall impact of state laws governing the use of anaerobic digesters on agriculture, residents, and local governments in the state. 

Henney joined several other experts – including Dale Arnold, director of Energy, Utility and Local Government Policy with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and Mel Kurtz, president of quasar Energy Group – in giving testimony to help guide the task force. To read Henney’s testimony, click here.

To read the full report that the Anaerobic Digester Task Force submitted to the Legislature, click here.