At its meeting Tuesday night, Dec. 2, 2025, the Gordon County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution enacting a six-month moratorium on permitting or zoning for anaerobic digestion facilities—operations similar to the bioenergy process facility currently proposed in neighboring Murray County.
The decision comes as Murray County residents continue efforts to halt a planned Vanguard Renewables Bioenergy Process Facility in a predominantly residential and agricultural area. Opponents have voiced strong concerns about potential impacts from the facility, noting that bioenergy waste processing can release gases such as ammonia, methane, and hydrogen sulfide. According to the EPA, these emissions have been documented to cause respiratory irritation and produce odors that can extend up to a mile from similar sites.
In the resolution, Gordon County officials cite a growing interest in the development of anaerobic digestion operations that process organic waste, food waste, biosolids, and agricultural byproducts to produce biogas or digestate. The document states that such facilities can pose challenges related to odor, truck traffic, wastewater, environmental and public health concerns, land-use compatibility, and general nuisance conditions.
County leaders said existing zoning, land-development, and environmental regulations may not sufficiently address these issues. The moratorium will allow time for officials to study the potential impacts and consider updates to local ordinances before accepting new applications for such facilities.