Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 5/4/18



At least two groups have served notice of intent to file lawsuits over Mountaire Farms’ disposal of waste from its poultry processing facilities in Millsboro, Del., under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Clean Water Act.

Earlier this week, Delaware-based Baird Mandalas Brockstedt LLC filed notice of intent to sue, alleging groundwater contamination around the Mountaire operations in Millsboro in violation of federal law, according to local media reports.
Last month, attorneys for Food & Water Watch, Public Justice and two other law firms filed their notice of intent to sue over the same issues.

Both groups say that the Millsboro facility has improperly disposed of the waste stream from the processing plant, which could include “feathers, dirt, fecal matter, blood, slaughtering wastewater, carcass parts, grit, sand, gravel, flesh, fat, grease, chiller wastewater, processing wastewater, cleanup wastewater, and sanitary waste from the employees at the plant,” according to documents. Some of the waste has been sprayed on surrounding fields as fertilizer, which the plaintiffs contend was inadequately treated before being applied. They also allege that the company’s storage lagoons have leaked.

Ultimately, the situation has resulted in polluted groundwater, with nitrate levels in excess of federal limits, that has been consumed by the plant’s neighbors for years, the plaintiffs claim. Excessive nitrate consumption could lead to a host of health problems.

In response, Mountaire Farms has released a statement:
"Mountaire Farms knows that the trust of the communities where we live and work is paramount to our collective success. The company recognizes that two different law firms have sent notice of suit letters. Due to potential litigation, we are limited in what we can say at this time. It’s important to note that we continue to work with state and local officials to implement sustainable solutions to improve Mountaire’s operations and are vested in our future together.

“We believe that the recent wastewater treatment system upset is not a significant source of elevated nitrate levels in the local area. As a matter of fact, 20 percent of the drinking water wells in Sussex County have tested above the drinking water standard for years. This condition has existed for decades – even before our arrival – not just within the past six months.”

The recent legal actions stem from notices that state environmental regulators gave Mountaire Farms in the fourth quarter of 2017, for failing to comply with regulations governing its systems for wastewater treatment and land treatment of waste at the Millsboro plant.  The state citations followed Mountaire’s own reporting of “significant permit exceedances” at the plant to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in September, 2017. In October, the waste treatment problems prompted Mountaire to withdraw an application to expand the plant, pending a solution to the issue.

Mountaire Farms subsequently made plans to dig wells for an estimated 88 people living near its chicken plant. It also held a public meeting on the issue, at which it presented evidence that it is not the source of the high nitrate concentration in the area’s groundwater.

Last month, the state granted Mountaire Farms’ request to store sludge in a previously abandoned lagoon at its Millsboro poultry complex, one step in a multi-year plan to improve the facility’s wastewater treatment process.

The notices of intent to sue each give Mountaire Farms 60 days to respond to the claims related to the alleged Clean Water Act violations, and 90 days to respond to claims related to RCRA violations. The federal laws require that a notice of intent to sue be filed 60 or 90 days before a lawsuit is actually filed, to give the parties a chance to reach agreement on a way forward before the courts become involved.

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