SUNNYSIDE, WA — Construction of what would be one of the largest — if not the largest — methane digester facility in the United States could begin soon in Sunnyside, Washington, unless local and state regulators act. Pacific Ag Renewables has secured tentative regulatory approval from the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency (YRCAA) for its Sunnyside RNG facility, a massive "factory farm gas" operation that environmental advocates and community members say was pushed through without meaningful community engagement and will cause serious, lasting harm to an already-overburdened region. 

The Center for Food Safety and allied organizations, including Friends of Toppenish Creek and Empowering Latina Leadership and Action (ELLA), are calling on YRCAA to deny the facility's air quality permit. The proposed permit indicates the facility would emit hazardous air pollutants into the surrounding community, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. A public hearing for interested parties is scheduled for March 25, 2026, at 6:00 PM at 86 Iron Horse Court, Suite 101, Yakima, WA. 

"Entrenching factory farms, despite their well-documented pollution in the Lower Yakima Valley, by constructing an unsustainable 'biogas' facility is unconscionable," said Kingsly A. McConnell, Staff Attorney at Center for Food Safety. "Pacific Ag is downplaying the severe environmental and health impacts of this project. The community deserves clean air, clean water, and a future free of the inequities and exploitation inherent in the factory farming system." 

"The City of Sunnyside already suffers from some of the worst air quality in Washington State. This facility would add to that burden by transporting manure from approximately 80,000 dairy cows to a 50-acre site within city limits for methane gas production. The proposal enriches private investors at the cost of the environment and public health," said Jean Mendoza, Executive Director of Friends of Toppenish Creek.

"ELLA is committed to making sure Lower Yakima Valley residents fully understand what's at stake with the proposed Sunnyside RNG project. We need a thorough environmental impact statement before this project moves forward because there are too many unanswered questions," said Maria Fernandez, Executive Director of ELLA. "Our communities have a right to clear, transparent information about the potential environmental and public health consequences."

Proponents of the Sunnyside RNG facility market its output as "renewable natural gas," but this framing is deliberate greenwashing that misleads the public and regulators alike. Methane digester facilities harvest methane from industrial animal agriculture waste, a process that is structurally dependent on factory farms producing massive volumes of liquid manure. Rather than reducing reliance on industrial animal agriculture, these facilities financially reward operators who increase herd sizes to generate more waste, creating a feedback loop of pollution and expansion. 

The Lower Yakima Valley has suffered the consequences of industrial animal agriculture for decades. Residents of the majority Hispanic community already face drinking water contaminated with elevated nitrate levels, a direct result of liquid manure leaching into groundwater from nearby industrial dairy operations. The Sunnyside RNG facility would deepen these harms by incentivizing further herd expansion, increasing methane and greenhouse gas emissions, generating more manure runoff, and bringing increased truck traffic and even fire and explosion risks to the surrounding area. 

The Sunnyside RNG facility has received over ten million dollars in state grants and loans. It should be noted that even the federal government has halted funding for methane digester projects due to high loan delinquency rates and widespread failures to deliver on economic promises. The facilities require continuous public subsidization and have proven not to be economically self-sustaining. 

Both the City of Sunnyside and Pacific Ag have been criticized for failing to adequately inform the surrounding community about the project. The approval process moved forward without meaningful community buy-in, leaving residents with no say over a massive industrial facility that will now operate in their backyards. 

The public comment period closes on March 30, 2026. The Center for Food Safety is urging Washington residents to submit comments to the YRCAA opposing the permit and to attend the public hearing this evening to provide in-person testimony.