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Note 1 - Organization, Nature of Business, Going Concern and Management's Plans
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Notes to Financial Statements  
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]
1.
ORGANIZATION, NATURE OF BUSINESS, GOING CONCERN AND MANAGEMENT’S PLANS:
 
Organization and nature of business:
 
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. (“Bion” or “We” or the “Company”) was incorporated in 1987 in the State of Colorado and has developed and continues to develop patented and proprietary technology and business models that provide comprehensive environmental solutions to a significant source of pollution in United States agriculture, large scale livestock facilities known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations (“CAFO’s”). Bion’s technologies (and applications related thereto) produce substantial reductions of nutrient releases (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) to both water and air (including ammonia, which is subsequently re-deposited to the ground) from livestock waste streams based upon our operations and research to date (and third party peer review thereof). We are continually involved in research and development to upgrade and improve our technology and technology applications, including integration with third party technology. Bion provides comprehensive and cost-effective treatment of livestock waste onsite (and/or at nearby locations), while it is still concentrated and before it contaminates air, soil, groundwater aquifers and/or downstream waters, and, in certain configurations, can be optimized to maximize recovery of marketable nutrients for potential use as fertilizer (organic and/or inorganic) and/or feed additives plus renewable energy (and related environmental credits).
 
During the 2014, 2015 and 2016 fiscal years, the Company increased its research and development focus on augmenting the basic ‘separate and aggregate’ approach of its technology platform to provide additional flexibility and to increase recovery of marketable nutrient by-products (in organic and non-organic forms) and renewable energy production (either/both biogas and/or renewable electricity), thereby increasing potential related revenue streams and reducing dependence of its future projects on the monetization of nutrient reductions (which still remain a very important part of project revenue streams). This research and development effort also involves ongoing review of potential “add-ons” and applications to our technology platform for use in different regulatory and/or climate environments. These research and development activities have targeted completion of development of the next generation of Bion’s technology and technology platform. We believe such activities will continue at least through the 2017 fiscal year, subject to availability of adequate financing for the Company’s operations, of which there is no assurance.
 
Currently, Bion is focused on using applications of its patented and proprietary waste management technologies and technology platform to pursue three main business opportunities: 1) installation of Bion systems ( some of which may generate verified nutrient credits and revenues from the production of renewable energy and byproducts)
to retrofit and environmentally remediate existing CAFOs (“Retrofits”)
in selected markets where: a) government policy supports such efforts (such as the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Great Lakes Basin states, and/or other states and watersheds facing EPA ‘total maximum daily load’ (“TMDL”) issues, and/or b) where CAFO’s need our technology to obtain permits to expand or develop without negative environmental consequences; 2) development of new state-of-the-art large scale waste treatment facilities in strategic locations (“Projects”) ( some of these may be Integrated Projects as described below)
with multiple revenue streams, and 3) licensing and/or joint venturing of Bion’s technology and applications (primarily) outside North America. The opportunities described at 1) and 2) above each require substantial political and regulatory (federal, state and local) efforts on the part of the Company and a substantial part of Bion’s efforts are focused on such political and regulatory matters. Bion is currently pursuing the international opportunities primarily through the use of consultants with existing relationships in target locations. The most intense focus is currently on the requirements for the clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay faced by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the potential use of Bion’s technology and technology platform on CAFOs as an alternative to what the Company believes is far more expensive nutrient removal downstream in storm water projects.
 
Management believes that Bion’s technology platform (including utilization of various third party technologies to supplement the Company’s proprietary technologies), through the combination of remediation of the waste streams of large scale existing CAFOs with recovery of valuable marketable nutrients and renewable energy, can enable the integration of large-scale CAFO’s and their end-product users, renewable energy production from the CAFO waste stream, on site utilization of the renewable energy generated and biofuel/ethanol production in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner while reducing the aggregate capital expense, operating costs and environmental footprint for the entire integrated complex (“Integrated Projects”). In the context of Integrated Projects, Bion’s waste treatment process, in addition to mitigating polluting releases, enables generation of renewable energy from the CAFO waste stream, which renewable energy can be sold into renewable energy markets (with material economic incentives) and/or utilized by integrated facilities including ethanol plants, CAFO end-product processors (including cheese, ice cream and/or bottling plants in the case of dairy CAFO’s and/or slaughter and/or processing facilities in the context of beef and/or swine CAFO’s) and/or other users as a fossil fuel replacement. The nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) can be harvested from the solids and liquid streams recovered from the livestock waste stream and can be utilized as either high value fertilizer (organic and/or inorganic) and/or the basis for high protein animal feed and the nutrient rich effluent can potentially be utilized in integrated hydroponic agriculture and/or field applied as fertilizer. Bion believes that its large scale Projects (including Integrated Projects) will produce high quality, traceable animal protein which can address consumer food safety/security concerns at a lower cost than current industry practices while also maintaining a far lower net environmental footprint per unit of protein produced due to water recycling (possible due to the removal of nutrients, etc. from the water by Bion’s technology applications), production of renewable energy from the waste stream (reducing the use of fossil fuels), and multiple levels of economies of scale, co-location and integration savings in transportation and other logistics. Projects may involve various degrees of integration which will limit the benefits described herein.
 
During 2008 the Company commenced actively pursuing the opportunity presented by environmental retrofit and remediation of the waste streams of existing CAFOs which effort has met with very limited success to date. The first commercial activity in this area is represented by our agreement with Kreider Farms (“KF”), pursuant to which the Kreider 1 system to treat KF's dairy waste streams to reduce nutrient releases to the environment while generating marketable nutrient credits and renewable energy was designed, constructed and entered full-scale operation during 2011. On January 26, 2009 the Board of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (“Pennvest”) approved a $7.75 million loan to Bion PA 1, LLC (“PA1”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, for the initial Kreider Farms project (“Kreider 1 System”). After substantial unanticipated delays, on August 12, 2010 PA1 received a permit for construction of the Kreider 1 system. Construction activities commenced during November 2010. The closing/settlement of the Pennvest Loan took place on November 3, 2010. PA1 finished the construction of the Kreider 1 System and entered a period of system ‘operational shakedown’ during May 2011. The Kreider 1 System reached full, stabilized operation by the end of the 2012 fiscal year. During 2011 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) re-certified the nutrient credits for this project. The PADEP issued final permits for the Kreider 1 System (including the credit verification plan) on August 1, 2012 on which date the Company deemed that the Kreider System was ‘placed in service’. As a result, PA1 commenced generating nutrient reduction credits for potential sale while continuing to utilize the Kreider 1 system to test improvements and add-ons. However, to date liquidity in the Pennsylvania nutrient credit market has been slow to develop significant breadth and depth, which limited liquidity/depth has negatively impacted Bion’s business plans and has resulted in challenges to monetizing the nutrient reductions created by PA1’s existing Kreider 1 project and Bion’s other proposed projects. These difficulties have prevented PA1 from generating any material revenues from the Kreider 1 project to date and raise significant questions as to when, if ever, PA1 will be able to generate such revenues from
the Kreider 1 system. PA1 has had sporadic discussions/negotiations with Pennvest related to forbearance and/or re-structuring its obligations pursuant to the Pennvest Loan for more than three years. In the context of such discussions/negotiations, PA1 elected not to make interest payments to Pennvest on the Pennvest Loan since January 2013. Additionally, the Company has not made any principal payments, which were to begin in fiscal 2013, and, therefore, the Company has classified the Pennvest Loan as a current liability as of June 30, 2016. Due to the failure of the Pennsylvania nutrient reduction credit market to develop, the Company determined that the carrying amount of the property and equipment related to the Kreider 1 project exceeded its estimated future undiscounted cash flows based on certain assumptions regarding timing, level and probability of revenues from sales of nutrient reduction credits and, therefore, PA1 and the Company recorded impairments related to the value of the Kreider 1 assets of $1,750,000 and $2,000,000 at June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2014, respectively. During the 2016 fiscal year, effective June 30, 2016, PA1 and the Company recorded an impairment of $1,684,562 to the value of the Kreider 1 assets which reduced the value on the Company’s books to $0. This impairment reflects management’s judgment that the salvage value of the Kreider 1 assets roughly equals PA1’s contractual obligations related to the Kreider 1 system, including expenses related to decommissioning of the Kreider 1 system,
costs associated with needed capital upgrade expenses, and re-certification/ permitting amendments.
 
On September 25, 2014, Pennvest exercised its right to declare the Pennvest Loan in default and accelerated the Pennvest Loan and demanded that PA1 pay $8,137,117 (principal, interest plus late charges) on or before October 24, 2014. PA1 did not make the payment and does not have the resources to make the payments demanded by Pennvest. PA1 has commenced discussions and negotiations with Pennvest concerning this matter but Pennvest has rejected PA1’s proposal made during the fall of 2014. Neither party has any formal proposal on the table as of the date of this report, and only sporadic communication continues regarding the matters involved. It is not possible at this date to predict the outcome of such negotiations/discussions, but the Company believes that a loan modification agreement may be reached in the future when a more robust market for nutrient reductions develops in Pennsylvania, of which there is no assurance. PA1 and Bion will continue to evaluate various options with regard to Kreider 1 over the next 30-180 days.
 
 
During August 2012, the Company provided Pennvest (and the PADEP) with data demonstrating that the Kreider 1 system met the ‘technology guaranty’ standards which were incorporated in the Pennvest financing documents and, as a result, the Pennvest Loan is now solely an obligation of PA1.
 
 
The economics (potential revenues, profitability and continued operation) of the Kreider 1 System are based almost entirely on the long term sale of nutrient (nitrogen and/or phosphorus) reduction credits to meet the requirements of the Chesapeake Bay environmental clean-up.
 
On May 5, 2016, Bion PA2 LLC (“PA2”) executed a stand-alone joint venture agreement with Kreider Farms covering all matters related to development and operation of a system to treat the waste streams from Kreider’s poultry facilities (“Kreider 2”). The Kreider projects are owned and operated by Bion through separate subsidiaries, in which Kreider has the option to acquire a noncontrolling interest. S
ubstantial capital (equity and/or debt) has been and will continue to be expended on these projects. Additional funds will be required for continuing operations and additional capital expenditures at Kreider 1 until sufficient revenues can be generated, of which there is no assurance. The Company anticipates that the Kreider 1 project will generate revenue primarily from the sale of nutrient reduction (and/or other) environmental credits. A portion of Bion’s research and development activities has taken place at the Kreider 1 facility.
 
Kreider 2 (not yet constructed) (and most future projects) will be developed using Bion’s 3G Tech to recover substantial marketable nutrients and renewable energy to supplement its revenue from nutrient reductions. The Company believes that the proceeds from multiple byproduct streams including i) feed additives and/or fertilizer (organic and non-organic) and ii) renewable energy (and related credits) can be reasonably projected to generate, in aggregate, revenue streams that, in certain circumstances, may approach (or exceed) 50% of total revenues from such project(s). To date the market for long-term nutrient reduction credits in Pennsylvania has been very slow to develop and the Company’s activities have been negatively affected by the lack of such development.
 
Kreider 2 development work and technology evaluation, including execution of a stand-alone joint venture agreement, amended credit certification and discussions with potential joint venture partners, continues, which project primarily relates to treatment of the wastes from Kreider’s poultry operations. Assuming there are positive developments related to the market for nutrient reductions in Pennsylvania, the Company intends to pursue development, design and construction of the Kreider 2 poultry waste/renewable energy project with a goal of achieving operational status during calendar year 2017. However, as discussed above, this project faces challenges related to the current limits of the existing nutrient reduction market and funding of technology-based, verifiable agricultural nutrient reductions which are anticipated to constitute the largest share of its revenues.
 
A significant portion of Bion’s activities concern efforts with private and public stakeholders (at local and state level) in Pennsylvania (and other Chesapeake Bay and Midwest and Great Lakes states) and at the federal level (the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) (and other executive departments) and Congress) to establish appropriate public policies which will create regulations and funding mechanisms that foster installation of the low cost environmental solutions that Bion (and others) can provide through clean-up of agricultural waste streams. The Company anticipates that such efforts will continue in Pennsylvania, other Chesapeake Bay watershed states throughout the next 12 months and in various additional states thereafter.
 
Going concern and management’s plans:
 
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has not generated significant revenues and has incurred net losses (including significant non-cash expenses) of approximately $4,522,000 and $5,642,000 during the years ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. At June 30, 2016, the Company has a working capital deficit and a stockholders’ deficit of approximately $10,602,000 and $13,938,000, respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability or classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. The following paragraphs describe management’s plans with regard to these conditions.
 
The Company continues to explore sources of additional financing (including potential agreements with strategic partners –both financial and ag-industry) to satisfy its current and future operating and capital expenditure requirements as it is not currently generating any significant revenues.
 
During the years ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company received total proceeds of $760,604 and $1,000,940, respectively, from the sale of its debt and equity securities. Proceeds during the 2016 and 2015 fiscal years have been lower than in earlier years which reduction has negatively impacted the Company’s business development efforts.
 
During fiscal years 2016 and 2015, the Company experienced greater difficulty in raising equity funding than in the prior years. As a result, the Company faced, and continues to face, significant cash flow management challenges due to working capital constraints. To partially mitigate these working capital constraints, the Company’s core senior management and several key employees and consultants have been deferring (and continue to defer) all or part of their cash compensation and/or are accepting compensation in the form of securities of the Company (Notes 6 and 8) and members of the Company’s senior management have made loans to the Company. Additionally, the Company made reductions in its personnel during the year ended June 30, 2014. The constraint on available resources has had, and continues to have, negative effects on the pace and scope of the Company’s efforts to develop its business. The Company has had to delay payment of trade obligations and has had to economize in many ways that have potentially negative consequences. If the Company does not have greater success in its efforts to raise needed funds during the 2017 fiscal year (and subsequent periods), management will need to consider deeper cuts (including additional personnel cuts) and curtailment of operations (including possibly Kreider 1 operations) and/or research and development activities.
 
The Company will need to obtain additional capital to fund its operations and technology development, to satisfy existing creditors, to develop Projects (including Integrated Projects) (including the Kreider 2 facility) and CAFO Retrofit waste remediation systems and to continue to operate the Kreider 1 facility. The Company anticipates that it will seek to raise from $2,500,000 to $50,000,000 or more debt and/or equity through joint ventures, strategic partnerships and/or sale of its equity securities (common, preferred and/or hybrid) and/or debt (including convertible) securities, and/or through use of ‘rights’ and/or warrants (new and/or existing) during the next twelve months. However, as discussed above, there is no assurance, especially in light of the difficulties the Company has experienced in recent periods and the extremely unsettled capital markets that presently exist (especially for small companies), that the Company will be able to obtain the funds that it needs to stay in business, complete its technology development or to successfully develop its business and projects.
 
There is no realistic likelihood that funds required during the next twelve months or in the periods immediately thereafter for the Company’s basic operations and/or proposed projects will be generated from operations. Therefore, the Company will need to raise sufficient funds from external sources such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of sufficient additional capital resulting from the inability to generate cash flow from operations and/or to raise capital from external sources would force the Company to substantially curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Further, there can be no assurance that any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significantly dilutive effect on the Company’s existing shareholders. All of these factors have been exacerbated by the extremely limited and unsettled credit and capital markets presently existing for small companies like Bion.