Mountaire Farms hit with wastewater discharge fines
Xerxes Wilson
Delaware-based poultry producer Mountaire Farms, Inc. will pay a fine and implement a court-mandated plan reduce wastewater discharge at its Selbyville facility, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
DNREC filed a complaint in Sussex County Superior Court against the poultry producer last week citing Mountaire's failure to comply with wastewater discharge permits, according to a statement from DNREC.
The discharge permits are meant to limit the amount of pollution discharged into local waterways to curtail effects on the environment.
The complaint centered around stormwater runoff and discharges from the "live animal hold" building making its way into the Sandy Branch of the St. Martin River.
An agreement between the two filed in court mandates Mountaire pay a $48,000 fine for permit violations and sets a timeline for the poultry producer to remedy the problem, according to a statement from DNREC.
Mountaire has reduced pollutants running into local waterways from the facility since a DNREC order in 2011, but additional reductions are required to comply with its permits, DNREC stated.
Last month, an environmental advocacy group threatened to sue Mountaire saying the company "stood out as the worst offender" in the state in reference to violations of its general discharge permit.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at(302) 324-2787 orxwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.