Northeastern Biochar CEO seeks more talks in Fulton County

Northeastern Biochar Solutions executives are ready to pitch the concept, which has been questioned by some environmental activists groups in the past, to a broader audience in Fulton County.

Following a presentation to the county public works committee earlier this week, Biochar CEO Raymond Apy said that he was ready to connect with a wider array of key area decision-makers.

“It's not really a county decision, but having county support is certainly helpful and it seems like we're off to a decent start with that,” Apy said. “We'll definitely take the next steps and see where that leads.”

Apy plans on pitching the multi-million dollar proposal to officials in Fulton County Industrial Development Agency, a land-granting entity, in addition to the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Under a partnership with GJJWTF as proposed by Northeastern Biochar, company stakeholders would get close access to wastewater materials. The ultimate model, Apy said, could vary.

GJJWTF is governed by a six-member board, including elected officials and a public works department head from Johnstown and Gloversville, respectively. Gloversville Public Works Director Donald Schwartz, the only board member present at the county public works committee meeting, relayed highlights of the meeting to Mayor Vincent DeSantis.

“I mean, you have to look at all the options and all the details of that,” said DeSantis. “But it's an interesting concept. I feel like you just have to keep an open mind with these things.”

GJJWTF Board Chairman Christopher Vose isn’t opposed to hearing from Biochar.

“I’d have to know a little bit more about it and take the temperature of the board to see if everybody was interested in it — and if they are, certainly,” Vose said. 

Through processing, the company would bake dried sludge-turned-biosolids from the treatment center at 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit in an effort to break down pernicious compounds. The result: a carbon-based fertilizer.

While company officials have touted their methods as a science-based cure to destroying dangerous fluorinated compounds such as PFAS, skeptics have questioned the prospective plant’s ability to contain such materials in both trucking and facility operations.

Such concerns — all of which have been deemed bogus by company officials — have been at the center of controversy in Moreau, where Biochar has spent the last three years and $1.5 million planning a three-stage fertilizer plant. Along the way, national environmental groups such as Earthjustice and the Sierra Club have even joined the opposition.

In a seeming referendum over the Saratoga Biochar subsidiary, a ticket of anti-Biochar candidates won control over the Moreau Town Board last year. Notably, this ended the tenure of three-term incumbent and Saratoga County leader Todd Kusnierz, who refused to publicly weigh in on the issue throughout his campaign.

Since then, lawmakers have set a nine-month moratorium on new permits for facilities within the town’s manufacturing or industrial zones. Novel Town Supervisor Jesse Fish has previously said that the measure isn’t a direct attack on Biochar.

Apy alleges opponents are attempting to cause “problems and delays” to slow the project down. “But that doesn't mean the Moreau project is not going to happen,” he continued. “It just means there are additional delays.”

After Biochar representatives left the Board of Supervisors chamber Monday, Fulton County Administrator Jon Stead questioned Biochar’s ultimate goals.

“I’m not sure I understand if they are actually trying to pursue everything in Fulton County or not from their answer today,” he said, referencing the group’s desire to move forward in Moreau.

Gloversville Supervisor Constantine Orfan, a member of the public works committee, noted that the group has plans to set up more locations across the state. The freshman Republican lawmaker is a staunch advocate for Biochar.

“I like the big picture overall,” he said. “Jobs [in the] county, we got to start somewhere.”

Approximately 25 workers salaried between $40,000 to $90,000 would work at the facility. About 100 skilled and unskilled laborers would work on what would be a nearly $100 million project to construct the facility.

Orfan, hoping to make good on a campaign promise of economic development last fall, invited Biochar to Fulton County weeks ago. He’s been in close contact with Apy since then.

“We did some emails back and forth, texts and phone calls and lunch with the CEO one day — dinner actually,” Orfan said in an interview.

Beginnings

Apy, a former internet technology executive at ConvergeOne from Syracuse, didn’t start the company. It was founded in 2019 as Element Carbon Hudson Ventures by Midwesterners Bryce Meeker and Lee Wulfekuhle. They targeted New York as an optimal location for business based on the state’s large concentration of biosolids.

Early attempts to find a home downstate in Orange County proved unsuccessful, according to reporting by the Post-Star in Glens Falls. In New Windsor, the town supervisor ultimately said that he didn’t want to be Biochar’s guinea pig. In Wallkill, the town’s ban on solid waste facilities was a deal-breaker.

Executives have blamed past challenges, including Moreau, on pseudoscience and intentionally-peddled falsehoods.

“I've been threatened, I've been called a serial liar,” Apy said. “I mean, you should see the things that these people have said about me and my business. I'm beyond being nice about it.”

So far, the company’s methods have been pilot tested in roughly five different pyrolysis kilns from Kentucky to Iowa. They have processed over 80 tons of biosolids in the past, according to Apy.

A Biochar-operated facility once fully operational would process 225,000 tons of biosolids per year and produce upwards of 25,000 tons of fertilizer. For the first phase of the project, it would likely take in 75,000 tons of biosolids and put out 8,000 tons of fertilizer.

Phase one would cost about $45 million. By phase three, one facility would total nearly $100 million.

Meeker told the public works committee in Fulton County on Monday that government financing could help the process move at a smoother pace and, in return, Biochar could “do a lot more.” Stead, in response, said that financial support would likely be a non-starter for surrounding municipalities.

Any potential site would likely exist around Fulton County’s core region, according to Apy. Biochar hasn’t yet nailed down a specific location in the area.

“It’s a little bit further off the Thruway than I would like, but there are state roads and truck routes available, obviously up into those and up into that area,” Apy said.

Biochar would require about 50,000 square feet of facility space designed to hold three days worth of storage. An optimal site would cover 5.9 acres of land.

Fulton County Planning Director Scott Henze said there could be a slot available for Biochar at the IDA-owned Tryon Technology Park in Perth. The 240-acre campus has struggled over the years to sell shovel ready land. Approximately 1.3 million square feet of space is available.

“The IDA, if they wish, could sell them acreage,” Henze said. “It's really dependent on the company and if that Tyron Technology Park fits the bill.”

Like in Moreau, any site proposal provided would require approval from municipal planning officials and state regulators. 

Gloversville Supervisor and public works committee member Gregory Young is certain the public will be involved in prospective discussions. The sole Democrat on the committee expects to hear concerns aplenty ranging from trucking to odor control. 

"I know I've already received phone calls from constituents who want to know more about this proposed project and the impact it'll have," Young said.