A city ordinance that was passed last week in Richmond, Virginia will have a big impact on local breweries. The city council voted to lower a utility surcharge on wastewater from local breweries and cider makers.

As reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the belief is that the waste that comes from these places “reduces the city’s cost of removing nutrients that harm water quality” to the local water source.

The carbon that comes from brewery waste reduces the nitrogen in the city's wastewater. Nitrogen is what harms the city’s water source. The city would have to buy a chemical to take care of the nitrogen if it wasn't for the carbon in the brewery waste.