From: Margaret Walsh

Winona

 

I attended a public meeting in Lewiston that featured a presentation by Nature’s Energy. It has recently been purchased by Shell Oil. Nature’s Energy is proposing a bio-digester within the city limits of Lewiston. The digester would be transporting manure and turkey litter to the facility to create methane gas for renewable energy. 100 trucks a day would travel our roads. The presenter was well-versed in sustainability jargon but short on information on how it will affect Winona County.

Time was given for Q&As with lengthy explanations that were lacking substance. A man in the audience took the mic during the Q&As and bemoaned that most of the people asking questions don’t even live here! Nature’s Energy showed a map designating the area the project will cover to be a 30-mile radius surrounding the building site. Surely, every person within Nature’s Energy map should be afforded a voice to ask questions even if their mailbox is not in the city limits of Lewiston.

If you care about who will pay for the wear and tear on our county roads, how best Inflation Reduction Act funds should be used, the risk of infecting birds with avian flu in our magnificent migratory flyway, the usage and contamination of groundwater in a sinkhole-prone area or the transporting of manure into Winona County from surrounding counties, by all means, let your voice be heard.