Cow power on Washington State’s
Enumclaw Plateau is getting a boost thanks to a $93,900 federal grant
for King County’s efforts to help family-run dairies improve manure
waste management and generate a new source of energy.
Cow power on Washington State’s Enumclaw Plateau is getting a boost thanks to a $93,900 federal grant for King County’s efforts to help family-run dairies improve manure waste management and generate a new source of energy.
King County Executive Ron Sims said the US Department of Agriculture Rural Business Enterprise Grant will be used to address the technical challenges of developing and building a system to collect and process the tens of thousands of gallons of manure that dairy cows produce each day on the Enumclaw Plateau.
“We are excited about the possibility of bringing new technology to the Enumclaw Plateau in this pilot project,” Sims said. “By focusing our efforts on reducing nutrients, reducing odor, creating electricity and safeguarding water quality, we are taking significant steps toward ensuring the future of family dairies in King County.”
The heart of any system is a manure digester, and Sims said the federal grant funding will be used to identify which manure digester system is most appropriate for the Enumclaw Plateau, to map out a system to aggregate the manure, and to identify the best site for such a facility.
