According to Frederick Braun III, chairman of the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency (IDA), the agency has accepted an application for assistance from Long Island Compost Corp. The company has filed an application seeking assistance that may include tax-exempt bond financing to allow it to build its $50 million, planned anaerobic digester project at its 62-acre facility. The IDA will consider the application over the next few months, but first it must schedule and hold a public hearing. The equipment, completely enclosed in a 75,000 s/f building, would allow Long Island Compost to use anaerobic digestion technology—used for decades in Europe and elsewhere—to process food wastes from Long Island restaurants, institutions, and grocery chains. In addition to producing mulch, the project would provide enough electricity to run the facility and will also produce compressed natural gas to power the company's fleet of trucks. The project is expected to result in the creation of 20 new jobs and the retention of over 100 jobs. "Should this project reach fruition, residents of Yaphank who for years have complained of dust and odor emanating from Long Island Compost's facility may soon be able to breathe fresh air," said Braun. Long Island Compost agreed to build the anaerobic digester in 2013 after months of mediation by the State Department of Environmental Conservation with environmental and civic groups. This year, the IDA has already assisted five commercial projects including Rail Realty, an apartment complex in upper Port Jefferson Village andMeadows at Yaphank Phase 1, a mixed-use development in Yaphank. The Brookhaven IDA has 9 additional projects under consideration with the potential to create and retain 1,800 jobs and result in $225 million in investment to the community.