Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday announced five finalists who will receive $1 million in funding to further develop technologies to remove harmful phosphorus from Vermont’s environment.
Scott launched the Phosphorus Innovation Challenge, which aimed at finding new ways to extract phosphorus from cow manure, nearly two years ago.
About 30 groups took part in the competition in 2018, pitching technologies to extract phosphorus and in some cases, repurpose it.
Six received state dollars last fall to begin honing their business plans and prototypes, and five of the projects were selected this month to receive a final round of funding.
The state generates phosphorus-laden runoff from fertilizer, manure spreading, stormwater runoff, wastewater treatment plans and other sources.
Vermont is under federal mandates to reduce phosphorus going into Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog and Lake Carmi. Excess phosphorus can trigger outbreaks of potentially toxic cyanobacteria. Farmland contributes 41% of phosphorus runoff to Lake Champlain and has to reduce phosphorus going into the lake by 55%.
“The bottom line is we have more phosphorus in our watersheds than we take out resulting in an excess of phosphorus in our environment,” Scott said Thursday.
Among the groups who will receive a second round of funding is Green State Biochar, which uses renewable organic wood waste materials to capture phosphorus from agricultural runoff.
Michigan-based Digested Organics received $137,500 to construct a mobile filter that will process manure into a phosphorus-rich concentrate, which be sold off-site, and a less potent liquid that could be spread on farm fields.
DVO, Inc. and the University of Vermont together received the largest award, $500,000, for their technology: anaerobic digesters that separate phosphorus from cow manure. The group is planning to open a retail facility in Vermont that will process the highly concentrated phosphorous product into products like potting soil and fertilizer.
The Village of Essex Junction, Chittenden County Solid Waste District and UVM will receive about $60,000 for technology which removes phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants.
And Enosburg-based Agrilab Technologies Inc. is receiving $320,000 for its efforts to establish a “hub and spoke” phosphorus recovery system in Franklin, Addison, Lamoille and Caledonia counties. Agrilab will set up a central facility in Franklin County that will compost manure and straw bedding and capture heat and a mobile composter that will go to surrounding “hub” farms.
Julie Moore, the secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, said that the state hopes the groups that receive funding will be able to scale up their technologies and business models.
“We don’t believe that there’s a singular solution, but rather a toolbox and are thrilled by the range of tools that present real opportunities, both environmental and economic,” she said of the groups that will receive funding.
