Treva Gear, chair of the Concerned Citizens of Cook County, was born in rural south Georgia in the close-knit hamlet of Adel, not far from four pick-your-own-peaches orchards. But her childhood memories of sweetness in the natural world run weedier and wilder. 

“When I think back, I would love to drink that sweet little drop of juice from the honeysuckles, go berry-picking or blow on the dandelions, not knowing it was actually spreading them everywhere,” she said. 

But now she and the Concerned Citizens of Cook County have graver worries than dandelions and imperfect lawns.

Two wood pellet biomass processing plants have sought air permits in Adel, and by its own assessment, the one proposed by Spectrum Energy Georgia LLC could be the largest in the world. If built, it will produce 1.3 million tons of pellets per year for export, and Gear is certain folks in Adel will take the health and environmental hits first.

“But ultimately,” she said, “everyone will pay a price.”

Read the story at Capital & Main