Genesee County, MI — On Monday, Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright and the staff of Genesee County Water and Waste Services ceremonially broke ground on a $13 million waste-to-energy facility at the Anthony Ragnone Treatment Plant (ARTP) in Montrose Township. The project was funded by the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, The State of Michigan and service fees.

The new facility, which will take a little less than two years to construct, sits adjacent to the newly-constructed digestion and dewatering plant on the south side of Farrand Road. The operation will not only massively reduce the volume of solid waste, but the gas that is removed in the process will ultimately be turned into electricity.

“That electricity will be used to operate our existing wastewater treatment facility, the largest one in this part of Michigan,” Wright said.

Wright said Water and Waste Services is the second-largest consumer of electricity in Genesee County, behind only General Motors. Once the new facility is operational, the electricity needed for the site will be reduced by as much as 80 percent.

From Mlive Flint:

State Rep. Jasper Martus, D-Flushing, praised the investment in the ARTP at Monday’s groundbreaking.

“Today is really government at its best,” Martus said. “Often times, the things that we can get done (are) not what’s sexy, it’s not what you put on a bumper sticker, but it’s what has real world implications for our community.”

The ARTP, named after the late Anthony Ragnone, a longtime former drain commissioner, is the largest of three sewage treatment plants in the county.

Wright said the plant projects collectively will improve reliability and efficiency to residents, decrease his office’s environmental footprint, and create a renewable energy that will keep costs from escalating in the coming years.

“It will take us into the 21st Century,” the drain commissioner said.

District 7 Commissioner Martin Cousineau, Chair of the Finance Committee of the Board of Commissioners, was instrumental in securing the ARPA funds for the project.

“This is an asset to Genesee County as a whole,” Cousineau said to the more than 50 attendees. “I really appreciate everything that Jeff and his team have done.”

Projects like this one reflect several of the priorities of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, including a focus on long-term financial stability and the promotion of healthy, safe and livable communities.