Biomass Rules, LLC

Biomass Rules, LLC is a consulting firm that, in the words of its owner, Mark Jenner, combines "principles of agronomy, engineering, livestock production, policy, and economics to conduct feasibility studies and biomass inventories" and "collects biomass industry data, adds knowledge and value, and sells it." Jenner is a toxic sludge apologist who calls himself "a biomass economist" and "writes a monthly column for BioCycle Magazine on bioenergy. . ." BioCycle Magazine is a publication serving the interests of the sewage sludge industry.

Jenner advocates using sewage sludge as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion in order to generate energy.

Toxic Sludge Gasification Controversy
EPA whistleblower Hugh Kaufman has called gasification, or using sludge to generate methanol or energy, the "most environmentally sound approach, but also the most expensive," to sludge disposal. However, anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, while it reduces the volume of the sludge and heats it to a temperature that kills many pathogens, still leaves behind what the industry calls "digestate" or, more specifically in this case, "biosolids." These "Class A Biosolids" (so-called because the Environmental Protection Agency has stricter limits on pathogens and "vector attraction" for Class A than for Class B Biosolids, i.e. they must not attract disease-carrying insects or rodents, etc.) still contain other sludge contaminants, including Dioxins and Furans, Flame Retardants, Metals, Organochlorine Pesticides, 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (DBCP), Naphthalene, Triclosan, Nonylphenols, Phthalates, Nanosilver, and thousands more substances.

The EPA's 2009 Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey (TNSSS) concluded that all sewage sludge, Class A, Class B or otherwise, contains toxic and hazardous materials, including large numbers of endocrine disruptors. The TNSSS results are described in two EPA reports published in 2009. EPA found that dozens of hazardous materials, not regulated and not required to be tested for, have been documented in each and every one of the sludge samples EPA took around the USA. And yet Class A "Biosolids" may be applied to cropland with no restrictions and sold or given away to gardeners as "organic fertilizers," and hundreds of municipalities and companies do so.

Speaker at the 2011 BioCycle 11th Annual Conference on "Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling"
Biomass Rules LLC's owner, Mark Jenner, spoke at the 2011 BioCycle 11th Annual Conference on "Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling." BioCycle Magazine is a publication serving the interests of the sewage sludge industry. Jenner spoke on a panel entitled "Biogas Policies," specifically on "Biomass Policies to Grow the Bioeconomy."

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Mark Jenner
 * Toxic sludge
 * Toxic Sludge Portal
 * Sludge contaminants
 * Sewage sludge