The town of Grimsby is $15 million dollars in debt and counting thanks to a failed environmental project that was intended to turn farm waste into electricity.

Grimsby energy’s biodigester sits at 424 Sobie Road along the escarpment.

Councillor Reg Freake, who is also Chair of Finance and Administration, says the previous board and council, who pushed the project forward, didn’t know what they were getting into four years ago.

It’s partly why he, and many others, including Mayor Jeff Jordan ran for council in October.

Instead, construction and operating costs continued to rise. The biodigester acts like a stomach, it takes farm waste like grape skins, hay and corn, breaks it down into methane gas which is fed into this engine, creating electricity which is fed into the power grid.

New council created new boards to uncover what Mayor Jordan says was kept secret.

Resident and certified public accountant, Delight Davoli, has been volunteering as chair of the new grimsby energy board. She says the biodigester has never operated at full capacity since it was turned on.

Davoli says they’re working with Deloitte to oversee the sale of the facility.

Members of previous council including the mayor were contacted for comment but didn’t return our calls.