“It really could be April Fool’s Day, because no one has ever applauded any action of the fiscal court.”

This is how Simpson County Judge-Executive Mason Barnes responded to a clapping crowd as the Simpson Fiscal Court on April 1 voted to prohibit biodigester facilities across Simpson County.

A plan for such a facility has stirred controversy in the community.

Barnes said during the meeting that banning these businesses in the county was recommended by the Franklin-Simpson Planning and Zoning Commission.

“In 14 years of local government service, I have never (gone) against a recommendation of the planning and zoning commission,” Barnes stated during the meeting, urging magistrates to follow the recommendation as well.

A bio-digester is a facility that breaks down organic waste through a renewable energy process known as “anaerobic digestion.” According to the Environmental Protection Agency, bacteria are used to break down organic waste matter, such as manure, wastewater solids, food scraps and other organic matter in the absence of oxygen.

As waste is broken down, biogases and compounds known as digestates are produced. Biogases created can be used for different energy needs and are composed of methane at a high percentage, between 50 and 75%, the EPA says. While methane gas can be used to produce renewable natural gas, many know it for its pungent odor.

Vanguard Renewables, a company that constructs biodigesters, was reported to be looking at building a facility in Simpson County, namely in the Prices Mill area.

A group of concerned residents of Prices Mill and other rural areas around the county gathered at a February planning and zoning meeting and expressed concerns over what the digester would mean for rural life, from concerns over high truck traffic volume on two-lane roads to odors in the air to lowered property values around the digester.

Two options were presented to fiscal court. One would allow biodigester facilities to operate in areas zoned “industrial” or “agriculture” with some conditions. The conditions would not allow biodigesters within 1,500 feet of residential properties and would have required the facilities to be built with access to major roads that have the capacity for 5,000 vehicles per day, along with some other restrictions.

Option two, the one chosen by fiscal court, makes biodigesters “expressly prohibited” in Simpson County.

The recommendation originally allowed small farms to build biodigesters for agricultural uses, but fiscal court removed this exemption.

“If we’re sued over (the prohibition), so be it,” Barnes stated in the meeting.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Carter Munday said ordinarily, changes made to zonings come back to his department for public hearing. However, if an ordinance is made and approved by fiscal court in this case, it bypasses this process.

Munday said since he has not received anything from the county since April 1, he’s “inclined to believe” an ordinance is on its way.

During the fiscal court meeting, Simpson County Attorney Sam Phillips expressed worries that outlawing biodigesters could lead to legal action against the county.

“I do not think the recommendation is a good idea,” Phillips said. “The law backs you restricting something, (but) the law frowns upon prohibiting something.”

Phillips pointed to different action from Simpson County and the City of Franklin in the past. He said while businesses and projects such as solar farms and adult entertainment are legal to construct in the county, they have been restricted by different rules.

He said while he does not like the biodigester idea, from a legal standpoint, he thinks restricting is a better option than banning them outright.

“I know that’s not the popular position … but I think I’m not doing my job if I don’t point out a problem.”

Around 20 members of the public were at the fiscal court meeting. Simpson County Jailer Eric Vaughn, speaking in his words “as a taxpayer,” said during the meeting that action needed to be taken by the fiscal court.

“At which point do we take control of our community,” Vaughn asked magistrates. “We’re a farming community … that’s what keeps us going.”

Vanguard Renewables did not respond to an email seeking comment by press time.