BETHEL – The Bethel Town Board heard a presentation by Mary Lambert from the Hudson Valley Regional Council at its meeting on September 24 about the installation of a Biofilter Project at the town’s closed landfill site, which is now the location of the town’s solar array. 

According to Lambert, the biofilter is to mitigate methane gas emissions, which have been found to be prevalent at landfills and which are a major cause of greenhouse gas. 

Two other leading directors of the project, Dr. Sehrish Asghar, PhD, a methane specialist, and Eleanor Peck, who is Deputy Director of the Climate Smart Community Program, were not present, and the presentation was conveyed via Zoom.

Lambert said numerous municipalities in the Mid-Hudson Valley have agreed to participate, including New Paltz, Gardiner, Beacon, Rhinebeck, Wallkill and Woodstock. There will be regular meetings of representatives from each locality for updates and to share learning.

“We have partnered with the New Jersey Institute of Technology,” Lambert said. “And have conducted site visits and background visits at 14 landfills.”

Town of Bethel Supervisor Dan Sturm agreed to site access authorization, biofilter installation approval, authorization of infrastructure modifications, community education and engagement, and post-project maintenance and education. He also agreed to provide relevant site and historical data about the closed landfill, at Lambert’s request. 

The project’s goal is to install biofilters at 14 closed landfill sites in the Mid-Hudson Region, systems which utilize methanotrophs, a specialized bacteria that is capable of converting landfill methane to less harmful gasses. 

The project includes an optional solar and battery storage feasibility study component as well as pollinator plantings. The installation is projected to span five years and the estimated cost of $20-$60,000 is free to the town due to a $5M grant through the Federal EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Program, authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, available to states, local governments, tribes, and territories.

The biofilter is a tiered system consisting of a top layer of plants, and underground sections of a sump, compost and topsoil, vents, and gravel to a depth of 50 centimeters. 

Biofilter micro-organisms reduce methane and eliminate foul odors as well as place the landfill in a potential revenue generating position as energy producers, Lambert stated.

In Bethel, the existence of solar panels will necessitate the placement of the biofilters in between and around their perimeter.

Sturm acknowledged Lambert’s informative session. “Thank you for including us in this project. We look forward to working with you.”

Chairman of Sustainable Bethel, Jeffrey Allison, was present for comment. “We met with the solar array project manager and he doesn’t foresee any problems,” he said.