BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority will not pursue a grant renewal for Clifford Smith’s study of  “novel value-added biomass products.”

In a special meeting Monday, EDA board members unanimously agreed to withdraw from the project as the deadline passed last fall.

The $48,030 Appalachian Regional Commission grant was awarded in 2021.

“The deadline had been established when the grant was accepted,” EDA director Carolea Mills said. “The grant, per the ARC, would need to be rewritten if it were to continue.”

Smith, of The Appalachian Renewal Project LLC, wrote the grant application under a previous EDA board.

“It was written as if Cliff Smith was an employee of the EDA, which is not the case,” said Mills.

Mills said the ARC would pay eligible expenses that have been incurred.

Based on invoices Smith submitted, he has spent about $22,000 of the grant funding.

The remainder of the grant will be canceled.

“The economic development authority will aggressively seek every opportunity to bring new funding into our community,” said Mills. “However, the approach to this particular project did not align with the board’s priorities, and they felt it best to withdraw from this planning project in order to pursue larger opportunities.

The project proposed to evaluate the economic opportunity of converting wood waste materials, like those found on a forest floor or from trimming trees or cutting invasive bushes/trees, into wood-based products like mulch, firewood and laminate flooring. The study was to characterize the amount of biomass waste in Martin, Pike and Mingo counties, then evaluate the market size, growth opportunities, competitors, regulations, and distribution and marketing requirements. It was also to evaluate equipment, capital, labor and associated costs.

A report that Smith submitted to the EDA last week includes copyrighted articles from magazines and other sources, a paragraph each on two invasive shrubs, the autumn olive and the Chinese bush flower, and other information. It discusses how mulch, firewood and other products are harvested, processed (equipment needed) and sold. Among other articles in the report, there is a section on logging and the necessary equipment.