Renewable natural gas from chicken litter proposed in NE Oklahoma

  • March 3, 2025

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality is processing the application of a New Hampshire company to build a bioprocessing plant to produce renewable natural gas from poultry litter.
Argo Development Partners recently applied for a permit to construct what would be the first such plant in the state. The company is seeking a permit to construct the facility in Ottawa County in northeast Oklahoma.
The DEQ set an April 2, 2025 public meeting to be held in Miami where Argo will make a presentation offering more information about the plant.
The application stated that the bioprocessing plant will receive an average of 164,000 tons a year of poultry litter.
“Poultry litter consisting of poultry manure and bedding material wil be used to feed an anaerobic digestion process to produce pipe-line quality renewable natural gas (RNG) and commercial fertilizer.”
The application also said the plant “is expected to produce an estimated 619,000 MMBtu of RNG, 8 million gallons of liquid fertilizer, and 60,000 ton s of solid fertilizer per year.”
When asked about the proposed plant, Erin Hatfield | Director
Office of Communications & Education said, “DEQ will follow normal, standard procedure regarding the issuance of a permit to Argo. The permit meets all the requirements of the Clean Air Act. To DEQ’s knowledge, this is the only facility of its type in Oklahoma.”
The April public meeting will be held at the City of Miami Civic Center Banquet Hall: 129 5th Avenue NW, Miami, OK  74354.

The meeting agenda shall include the following:

  • 5:30-5:40 Kickoff and Overview by DEQ
  • 5:40-6:10 Presentation by Applicant
  • 6:10-7:30 Take Comments from Public

The draft permit is available for review on the DEQ Web Page: https://www.deq.ok.gov/permits-for-public-review/ .

In a late January report by KOAM TV in Pittsburg, Kansas, Miles Walker, co-founder of Argo Development Partners explained, “Basically mix it with water, do a biological process where we we convert carbon and nitrogen into three products. And all three of those products are really agricultural products that are renewable natural gas, liquid fertilizer and solid fertilizer.”

He explained his firm considered sites in Arkansas and Missouri but chose northeast Oklahoma because of the availability of natural gas pipelines and the proximity to farmers with chicken litter.

Walker says the company looked at sites in Arkansas and Missouri but ultimately chose Ottawa County in Oklahoma because of it’s access to the natural gas pipeline and the proximity to farmers with chicken litter.

“There’s actually a very significant pipeline that runs right across the side of the site. So our material won’t have to leave site. So we’ll generate on site and it will immediately go into the pipeline,” Walker told the TV station.

 

Jerry Bohnen