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Georgia officials set new rules for poultry runoff after storms
Story Date: 3/13/2012
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Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 3/12/12
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is preparing to impose new regulations designed to protect groundwater from potential contamination from a variety of sources after it rains, including regional poultry plants such as Pilgrim’s Pride’s Gainesville, Ga., facility.
One-fourth of the poultry plants in Georgia will be affected by the new rules, according to the Georgia Poultry Federation, which also points out that the poultry industry isn’t alone in potentially delivering fecal coliform into local streams.
Georgia is the nation’s leading producer of broilers and the local industry has an annual economic impact of $18.4 billion, according to the University of Georgia.
One processor that may be affected by the new rules is Pilgrim’s Pride, a division of JBS S.A. in Brazil. Environmental activists have been testing the water near a Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Gainesville, Ga., and have called the water in Flat Creek a “hot spot” for bacteria. A spokeswoman for the company told the Gainesville Times that the plant has changed the way it handles storm water runoff by collecting it and sending samples to the city.
The Georgia EPD will accept comments on the new rules from the public until this Friday, opening the door for the regulations to take effect in about two months.
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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