Members of the Sierra Club of La-Grange renewed their opposition to building a proposed biomass plant in LaGrange during a session of City Council.

The four women and one man representing the club raised questions and concerns at Tuesday night’s council meeting, particularly on particulates, the tiny particles the $170 million, wood-burning plant would produce.

“If our plant was as large as the plant that they’re building (in Early County) or theirs was as small as ours - this plant releases more particulate matter, more CO2 and more nitrous oxide than the coal plant does,” said Jeannine Honicker, founder and cochairman of the LaGrange club. “But we don’t have to compare it to a coal plant. It’s not another coal plant we want instead of it.”

Honicker produced three charts listing byproducts she said could be created through incomplete combustion of biomass, some potentially dangerous in high quantities. Formaldehyde, benzene and methane can have potentially negative effects on the environment, said a study through the University of California, Berkeley.

Mayor Jeff Lukken told club members that Greenway Renewable Power already has promised continuous monitoring of the particulates being released to make sure it follows the guidelines of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state Environmental Protection Division, along with additional precautions such as scrubber systems that capture the particulates through a control system.

Along with cleaning systems, the group previously spoke of using “slash” as fuel, wood that has been left over from forests being thinned or cut, yard clippings that otherwise would add to landfills, and leftover, untreated lumber.

The proposed plant couldn’t use newly cut trees.

“Even if they wanted to do that, the market and the economy are driven so that there’s much better usage of that wood,” Lukken said.

If the plant is built, the area would receive $2.5 million per year - $1.2 million for the school system primarily in property tax; $700,000 for the county; and $475,000 for the city by selling graywater. And the owners would pay and would be held to strong regulations, Lukken said.

“If the city of LaGrange and Troup County find that this plant causes any potential harm to our citizens, short term or long term, the issue is over,” he said. “All of those benefits will fall by the wayside as we realize we are here to take care of our citizens, their health and their future.

“It’s not even a question to be answered. It’s a no-brainer.”

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.