GYPSOIL

GYPSOIL, a division of Beneficial Reuse Management (BRM), paves the way for the beneficial reuse of byproduct gypsum, a valuable input for the production of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, cotton, peanuts and other crops. Its role is to identify and establish gypsum suppliers, assist in permitting, help growers understand the agronomics and application methods in using gypsum and develop cost-effective distribution and transport networks.

When their product came under regulatory scrutiny by the U.S. EPA after a coal-waste disposal accident in the Tennessee Valley; Greenleaf Advisors was able to protect Beneficial Reuse Management’s interests through informing policy debate.

Greenleaf Advisors informs policy with sound science and experience to advance business practices. Gypsum protects watersheds through the reduction of nutrients leaching into runoff waters.

Greenleaf Advisors helped build the necessary bridges and facilitated a rational dialogue. Beneficial Reuse Management engaged stakeholder groups and informed legislative debate. BRM demonstrated the positive contributions gypsum brings to soil conditions, such as improved infiltration, soil quality and decreased phosphorus runoff. Other participants included the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Dr. Warren Dick of The Ohio State University, and Dr. Darrell Norton and Dr. Rufus Chaney of the USDA-ARS. Chaney covered risk assessment at the conference, while Dick and Norton spoke to the scientific benefits of gypsum. Jack Mahoney, a farmer, praised gypsum as a useful soil amendment.

Ultimately, the EPA regulated coal ash in a way that still allows for beneficial reuse, a success for BRM, GLA, farmers, and our waterways. Gypsum is now promoted as a safe and best agricultural practice. Today, GYPSOIL has extended its work to 28 states, where growers and regulators are learning about the science behind FGD gypsum. In 2016, gypsum was approved by the USDA-NRCS as a Conservation Practice Standard. View the NRCS Standard here.

Greenleaf contributed to the Midwest Soil Symposia led by Gypsoil focused on the benefits of gypsum as a soil amendment, and extended it into a broader series of integrated whole systems approaches called Healthy Soils for Healthy Waters.

Read our gypsum literature summary gypsum literature summary here and see additional partner resources here.