In a recent Valdosta council meeting, longtime councilman Sonny Vickers asked if there was any way to put the biomass issue to rest once and for all. The good news, Councilman Vickers, is that there is and it’s all in the city’s hands.

The Industrial Authority signed an agreement with Wiregrass Power LLC which allows the company to purchase the land from the Authority and proceed with the project on its own. Although the Authority hasn’t yet voted on the issue, it appears that they don’t have a choice and may be compelled to honor the agreement. And once the land is purchased, as long as the company complies with existing zoning laws, there is not a way to prevent the plant from being built.

Oh, but there is.

Councilman Vickers, all you and your fellow councilmen have to do is to vote down the request for water from Wiregrass Power LLC. Simple. Especially in drought times, even treated wastewater is a precious commodity for agricultural uses, and the community needs it all, rather than see it evaporated in order to burn wood.

In addition, with all of the wildfires and the amount of woodlands that have burned in recent months, the supply of timber is currently at the lowest it’s been in many years, forcing prices to rise far beyond the level the company had intended to spend purchasing it.

To go one further, the city needs to pass an ordinance or impose a policy that no solid waste in the form of human feces will be permitted to be burned in this or any incinerator in the community. It is untested technology. No other plant in the world is currently burning feces, and Lowndes County shouldn’t be the testing ground.

According to Wiregrass officials, they were simply burning the city’s waste at the city’s request, in order to save Valdosta around $250,000 a year in landfill fees. So rescind the request.

To those who oppose the Wiregrass Power plant, and to Vickers and the other councilmen who are genuinely concerned about protecting your constituents, the future of the plant is entirely up to the City of Valdosta.

May you use your power wisely.