Wedoany.com Report-Mar 20, The government of Alberta has introduced legislation that aims to update its Agricultural Operation Practices Act to help grow and diversify agriculture while supporting the province’s emerging biogas industry.

The Agricultural Operation Practices Act and its regulations address the location of confined feeding operations, facility construction standards, siting of seasonal feeding and bedding sites, and the management and application of manure. This includes rules and standards for all agricultural operations that handle manure and organic materials.

Updates proposed by the government aim to provide certainty for those who store and use biogas production byproducts as a nutrient source to grow crops. The government said the proposed changes are also expected to encourage investment in biodigester facilities.

Currently, the act and its regulations lack clarity on how organic material can be managed. That lack of clarity had led to regulatory uncertainty for agricultural operations regarding storing and using digestate generated from manure.

Changes proposed by the government of Alberta would update regulations to allow organic waste from the agriculture sector to be diverted from landfills to biogas plants. The changes would also allow producers to store and use digestate on their farms as supplements to synthetic fertilizer.