Permitting Process and Community Engagement
To move forward with our composting operation, we must obtain 5 permits through municipal and state government. The permits are through: Environmental Justice Program, Land and Water Resources Division, National Diversity Database, Stormwater Program, and Waste Engineering and Enforcement Division. Overall, we've been told the permitting process is 10 months at minimum.
In August 2024, Earth Care received approval on the Environmental Justice Program portion of the permit application.
During September 2024, Earth Care has consulted with herpetologist/environmental scientist Dennis Quinn and his team from Quinn Ecological. They have done extensive surveying on the property (over 45 man hours!) to document notable species and offer guidance on which areas of the property should be put into conservation easement. Dennis Quinn's final report was submitted to the State of CT for review in November 2024.
We will continue to update this page throughout the permitting process.
During any part of this process, we welcome questions and concerns from residents. Please send comments to [email protected]
In August 2024, Earth Care received approval on the Environmental Justice Program portion of the permit application.
During September 2024, Earth Care has consulted with herpetologist/environmental scientist Dennis Quinn and his team from Quinn Ecological. They have done extensive surveying on the property (over 45 man hours!) to document notable species and offer guidance on which areas of the property should be put into conservation easement. Dennis Quinn's final report was submitted to the State of CT for review in November 2024.
We will continue to update this page throughout the permitting process.
During any part of this process, we welcome questions and concerns from residents. Please send comments to [email protected]
july 20 Public meeting
Public Informational Meeting Announcement
With Jayne Merner of Earth Care Farm
RE: New farm compost operation at 220 Newport Rd, Sterling, CT (the old Sterling Materials)
Open to the general public, as required by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Gathering was held:
July 20, 2024 at 10am
Angel and Anchor Farm
41 Newport Rd, Sterling, CT 06373
The agenda for the informational meeting was:
1. General Introduction
2. Layout of the facility
3. Safety features associated with facility operation
4. Questions and Answers
5. Closing Comments
During the meeting, Jayne answered all questions submitted through the meeting RSVP, email, and posted on Facebook in response to the Public Meeting Announcement.
To watch/listen to the public meeting, click below!
With Jayne Merner of Earth Care Farm
RE: New farm compost operation at 220 Newport Rd, Sterling, CT (the old Sterling Materials)
Open to the general public, as required by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Gathering was held:
July 20, 2024 at 10am
Angel and Anchor Farm
41 Newport Rd, Sterling, CT 06373
The agenda for the informational meeting was:
1. General Introduction
2. Layout of the facility
3. Safety features associated with facility operation
4. Questions and Answers
5. Closing Comments
During the meeting, Jayne answered all questions submitted through the meeting RSVP, email, and posted on Facebook in response to the Public Meeting Announcement.
To watch/listen to the public meeting, click below!
Map of property
Map of the property owned by Sterling Earth, which is being reviewed during the permitting process.
PDF of map available here.
PDF of map available here.
site plan map
Proposed site plan for the composting area of the property, which is being reviewed during the permitting process.
Compost manufacturing process
Earth Care Farm Compost Manufacturing Process updated June 2024
Production Goal: To create a highly nutritious soil amendment that will enrich soil without adding weed seeds or pathogens.
The Earth Care Farm manufacturing process consists of 6 areas: 1) Staging, 2) Mixing, 3) Turning, 4) Maturing, 5) Screening, and 6) Sales.
The Staging area is where primarily carbonaceous material is accumulated. Our carbonaceous material varies slightly depending on season and availability, but includes: wood chips (50%), leaf/yard material (30%), sawdust (10%), animal bedding (5%), spent coffee grinds and tea leaf (3%), coffee bean chaffe (1%), and mushrooms in their growing medium (1%).
The Mixing area is where carbonaceous material is formed into a pad for nitrogen rich material to get dumped onto on a daily basis. Nitrogenous material feedstock consists of shellfish/fish gurry (50%), food scraps (40%), seaweed (5%), and manures (5%; manures are primarily received pre-mixed with bedding and are accumulated in the carbonaceous material Staging area). When the nitrogenous material is dumped it is visually inspected for potential inorganic contaminants such as plastics, glass and metals which are removed by hand. Using payloaders, it is covered and blended with carbonaceous material. It then gets bulked up with more carbonaceous material as it gets incorporated into the Turning area pile, until a general ratio of 30:1 carbon to nitrogen is achieved. A carbon biofilter layer is then applied to the outer surface of the newly mixed material to prevent odors and fly problems. The resulting piles, created by payloader bucket, end up being block shaped with dimensions of approximately 50’ (l) x 30’ (w), x 12’ (h). The pile length varies depending upon the amount of material accumulated in 2-4 months.
The Turning area is where the mixed composting material is turned using a large block/windrow style system. We use payloaders with buckets that hold 5 cubic yards of composting material. The material is picked up in the bucket, slowly dumped in place twice and then brought to the already aerated portion of the pile. This aeration results in thermophylic conditions. The material is turned using this method approximately every three weeks for 5-9 months.
During the initial turning stages, we record representative sample temperature data by probing a portion of the composting material with a 3 ft temperature gauge. Soon after turning, temperatures of the composting material rise to 131 - 160 degrees F for a minimum of three days. These thermophilic temperatures ensure sterilization of weed seeds and pathogens.
The Maturing area is where the compost is stored once it has transitioned from thermophilic to mesophilic temperatures. The mesophilic compost is turned about once a month for 6 months to keep conditions aerobic. The compost will then rest before getting screened.
The Screening area is where the finished, mature compost is run through our Komptech M2 multistar screener. Coarse material (larger than ½” in particle size) is mechanically separated by size exclusion from fine material. The resulting fine, screened compost is then brought to the Sales area for bulk wholesale or retail sales. The coarse material, “tailings”, is either rescreened or used as fill for revegetation in local gravel banks.
General Site Management Goal: To maintain a compost site that is efficient for production, manages water flow with respect to the surrounding environment, and is safe.
A. Berms and Swales: Intentionally designed mounds and grades of gravel that determine where the rainwater flows. Must be regularly monitored after each rain event for effectiveness and added to as they wear down overtime.
B. Pad Maintenance: Front Blading: A process of skimming the top of the pad with a flat bucket of the loader, should be done to remove excess compost from the pad at the end of each day, before back blading begins. Back blading: A process of smoothing out the areas around the compost piles to avoid divots where rain water can collect and treads where mud can freeze in cold weather making a bumpy pad. Should be done regularly, daily in the wet conditions.
C. Pond Maintenance:
3. Monitor pond retaining walls.
4. Routine maintenance and repair pump as need
D. Weed Management: Monitor and remove/ mow/ graze vegetation that has seed heads and could blow into the finished compost. Also monitor compost piles weekly for weeds growing on the edged and tops of piles.
E. Litter Control: First line of defense is to prevent litter from coming in by educating tipping customers about what is allowable to come in and have a signed form stating what is accepted. After each load is dumped in its respective pile, the loader operator will visually inspect the load. If there is litter, alert the driver and have them remove the litter. If it is too much to remove by the driver, the load will be loaded back into the truck and needs to be removed by the originator. Weekly police the piles on for inorganic litter. Inform sourcing if persistent inorganic litter is found within the incoming material.
F. Odor Management:
A. To control odors, tipping of odor producing feedstocks ,such as food scraps and manures, will be dumped into a pad of carbon based materials to catch the liquid. Odorous liquid must not run off.
Puddles will be filled as soon as they are noticed. Standing water harbors odors and insects.
Production Goal: To create a highly nutritious soil amendment that will enrich soil without adding weed seeds or pathogens.
The Earth Care Farm manufacturing process consists of 6 areas: 1) Staging, 2) Mixing, 3) Turning, 4) Maturing, 5) Screening, and 6) Sales.
The Staging area is where primarily carbonaceous material is accumulated. Our carbonaceous material varies slightly depending on season and availability, but includes: wood chips (50%), leaf/yard material (30%), sawdust (10%), animal bedding (5%), spent coffee grinds and tea leaf (3%), coffee bean chaffe (1%), and mushrooms in their growing medium (1%).
The Mixing area is where carbonaceous material is formed into a pad for nitrogen rich material to get dumped onto on a daily basis. Nitrogenous material feedstock consists of shellfish/fish gurry (50%), food scraps (40%), seaweed (5%), and manures (5%; manures are primarily received pre-mixed with bedding and are accumulated in the carbonaceous material Staging area). When the nitrogenous material is dumped it is visually inspected for potential inorganic contaminants such as plastics, glass and metals which are removed by hand. Using payloaders, it is covered and blended with carbonaceous material. It then gets bulked up with more carbonaceous material as it gets incorporated into the Turning area pile, until a general ratio of 30:1 carbon to nitrogen is achieved. A carbon biofilter layer is then applied to the outer surface of the newly mixed material to prevent odors and fly problems. The resulting piles, created by payloader bucket, end up being block shaped with dimensions of approximately 50’ (l) x 30’ (w), x 12’ (h). The pile length varies depending upon the amount of material accumulated in 2-4 months.
The Turning area is where the mixed composting material is turned using a large block/windrow style system. We use payloaders with buckets that hold 5 cubic yards of composting material. The material is picked up in the bucket, slowly dumped in place twice and then brought to the already aerated portion of the pile. This aeration results in thermophylic conditions. The material is turned using this method approximately every three weeks for 5-9 months.
During the initial turning stages, we record representative sample temperature data by probing a portion of the composting material with a 3 ft temperature gauge. Soon after turning, temperatures of the composting material rise to 131 - 160 degrees F for a minimum of three days. These thermophilic temperatures ensure sterilization of weed seeds and pathogens.
The Maturing area is where the compost is stored once it has transitioned from thermophilic to mesophilic temperatures. The mesophilic compost is turned about once a month for 6 months to keep conditions aerobic. The compost will then rest before getting screened.
The Screening area is where the finished, mature compost is run through our Komptech M2 multistar screener. Coarse material (larger than ½” in particle size) is mechanically separated by size exclusion from fine material. The resulting fine, screened compost is then brought to the Sales area for bulk wholesale or retail sales. The coarse material, “tailings”, is either rescreened or used as fill for revegetation in local gravel banks.
General Site Management Goal: To maintain a compost site that is efficient for production, manages water flow with respect to the surrounding environment, and is safe.
A. Berms and Swales: Intentionally designed mounds and grades of gravel that determine where the rainwater flows. Must be regularly monitored after each rain event for effectiveness and added to as they wear down overtime.
B. Pad Maintenance: Front Blading: A process of skimming the top of the pad with a flat bucket of the loader, should be done to remove excess compost from the pad at the end of each day, before back blading begins. Back blading: A process of smoothing out the areas around the compost piles to avoid divots where rain water can collect and treads where mud can freeze in cold weather making a bumpy pad. Should be done regularly, daily in the wet conditions.
C. Pond Maintenance:
- Pump regularly onto farm pastures to keep water level low in ponds
3. Monitor pond retaining walls.
4. Routine maintenance and repair pump as need
D. Weed Management: Monitor and remove/ mow/ graze vegetation that has seed heads and could blow into the finished compost. Also monitor compost piles weekly for weeds growing on the edged and tops of piles.
E. Litter Control: First line of defense is to prevent litter from coming in by educating tipping customers about what is allowable to come in and have a signed form stating what is accepted. After each load is dumped in its respective pile, the loader operator will visually inspect the load. If there is litter, alert the driver and have them remove the litter. If it is too much to remove by the driver, the load will be loaded back into the truck and needs to be removed by the originator. Weekly police the piles on for inorganic litter. Inform sourcing if persistent inorganic litter is found within the incoming material.
F. Odor Management:
A. To control odors, tipping of odor producing feedstocks ,such as food scraps and manures, will be dumped into a pad of carbon based materials to catch the liquid. Odorous liquid must not run off.
Puddles will be filled as soon as they are noticed. Standing water harbors odors and insects.