Mountaire addressing runoff issues at poultry facility

Mountaire Farms has reached an agreement with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) under a consent decree to eliminate storm water discharges from periodic rainfall runoffs from its poultry plant in Selbyville, Delaware.
The agreement between Mountaire Farms and the DNREC was reached amid concerns that during heavy rains, the runoff flows into ditches that lead to the Sandy Branch of the St. Martin River. Under the decree, which was signed by Superior Court Judge Henley Graves, Mountaire will pay a $48,000 civil penalty and agree to make improvements to the facility to prevent future runoff issues.
According to the DNREC, past runoffs from the plant’s processing area, along with discharge from a live animal hold building were in violation of Mountaire’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. DNREC stated that Mountaire has made facility improvements over the past four years, but additional improvements still need to be made to be in full compliance.
Mountaire Farms, in a statemtent, said it is actively working to resolve the runoff problems.
“Mountaire has been and continues to be engaged with DNREC to address periodic rainwater runoff issues at the Selbyville location and has completed a number of improvement projects to reduce the impact of rainwater leaving the company’s property, including removing all vehicles from the parking lot and putting them under roof. Mountaire is currently pursuing a final solution that will eliminate the rain from leaving the property,” the company stated.