More funds on the table for anaerobic digester

KINGSPORT — Domtar is asking for more funds for its Tennessee operations — a portion of which would fund its anaerobic digester project.About $16.5 million of an up to $100 million tax-exempt bond the company is asking for would fund Domtar's anaerobic digester project. That's in addition to the $60 million bond the company was granted in December 2024.The anaerobic digester is a new wastewater treatment system Domtar is constructing to mitigate odor emitting from its Kingsport mill. Digester construction officially began in August."I'm sure the burning question is on the amount," Domtar's Director of U.S. Public Affairs Jan Martin shared at Tuesday's Kingsport Economic Development Board meeting."There's probably around $16.5 million leftover remaining for the digester project, because we accelerated that project, and then it wound up being more than we thought," Martin said.The bond money would also be used for about a dozen jobs the company will add to its Kingsport mill over the next few years, Martin shared.About $30 million of the bond money, if approved, would go toward Domtar's mill in Calhoun, Tennessee, about 45 miles northeast of Chattanooga, which produces towel and tissue products."This is a first for us, in that we have never issued bonds for a project for expenses in another city or jurisdiction in Tennessee. But that is allowed, if, as long as some portion of the bonds are being spent in our community," said Joel Conkin, KEDB attorney.Conkin said the cost to issue bonds are "very, very high" and Domtar would save costs, and time, by combining both requests into one.Kingsport's Economic Development Board voted to preliminarily approve the bond at its Tuesday meeting. A final approval vote will take place in the spring.This month, Domtar will repurpose an existing building that will eventually house the monitoring and lab work for the digester once it's up and running.About 15 people are involved in project construction in its current stage. That number will increase to around 50 people and peak at 150 people, according to Domtar Vice President of Strategic Capital Projects Charlie Floyd."We're monitoring safety performance now, which is important. So far, everything's really good, and we've got the programs in place for training and making sure everybody knows how to work safely in the work getting done there," said Floyd.Jorgelina Manna-Rea is an environmental reporter at Six Rivers Media through Report for America.