The Alberta government has proposed updates to the current Agricultural Operations Practices Act through Bill 44. If implemented, the government says that it would reduce waste and allow farmers to supplement current fertilizer programs with organic materials.
While biodigesters already operate within the province, the current regulations lack clarity on the management of organic material, leaving a gap in the certainty of the rules surrounding storing and using digestate generated from manure, the announcement says.
With 3.4 million tonnes of organic waste produced annually, primarily from livestock manure and food processing, these additions aim to allow organic waste from the agricultural sector to be diverted from landfills to biogas plants, to generate heat and electricity, or be refined into renewable natural gas. It would also allow the material that remains after the conversion process (called digestate) to be stored and used on farm as a soil amendment
Currently, this is governed by a memorandum of understanding between Agriculture and Irrigation, Environment and Protected Areas and the Natural Resources Conservation Board. The Alberta government aims to raise this memorandum into legislation, providing the biogas industry with regulatory certainty.
“Alberta farmers and ranchers work hard to put good food on tables here at home and around the world. Updates to this act would provide access to additional nutrient sources to grow crops,” says Alberta minister of agriculture and irrigation, RJ Sigurdson.
