Poultry group opposes Chesapeake Bay legislation

Delmarva Poultry Industry, a trade association representing poultry industry members in the Chesapeake Bay region, has come out against bay restoration bills sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
In a memo to its members, the association wrote that the bills create an unlevel playing field for Chesapeake farmers by subjecting them to greater regulation than farmers in other parts of the United States. It added that “the bills will hamper innovative solutions in areas such as nutrient trading, farm adaptive management, and overall water quality restoration.”
The association argued that the legislation is unnecessary because the Clean Water Act provides a sufficient legal framework for reaching the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s clean water goals for the Chesapeake Bay.