Implications for bioenergy development

The Clean Water Act establishes several constraints that bioenergy developers should keep in mind. These center primarily around the need to ensure that any contaminated waters or waste products are disposed of in a manner that does not harm the groundwater. In fact, states throughout the country are currently developing groundwater protection programs. These efforts to protect groundwater may, in fact, have both direct and indirect benefits to bioenergy development. For example, both dairies and feed lots will be under increasing pressure to reduce contamination from animal waste. These controls will be costly. This, together with rising energy costs, may make cogeneration for such facilities economically attractive. Alternatives to burial may also have to be found for other organic material that has been shown to cause groundwater contamination, such as onion culls, chicken carcasses, etc. This could increase its economic viability