Foster Farms fined for wastewater discharge

Foster Farms is being fined $44,000 for releasing untreated chicken processing wastewater from its processing facility in Kelso, Washington, on June 6, to the Three Rivers Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, and not reporting it in a timely manner as required.
The treatment plant was overwhelmed by the volume of the waste and some of it reached the Columbia River. State water quality regulations require Foster Farms to pre-treat its wastewater before it is discharged to the Three Rivers treatment plant, the Washington Department of Ecology stated in a press release. The event was a violation of Foster Farms water quality permit.
Three Rivers treatment plant operators found large amounts of grease and feathers throughout their plant. They removed nearly one cubic yard of feathers and other chicken processing waste from the plant’s inlet screen.  
In addition to the fine, Foster Farms was ordered to update its operation and maintenance manual to identify how it will protect the Three Rivers Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant from these types of discharges in the future.
While Foster Farms has 30 days to appeal the penalties, the company stated the importance of environmental responsibility and that future steps are being taken to prevent similar issues.
“Environmental responsibility is important to all of us at Foster Farms. During the installation of new wastewater treatment equipment at our Kelso, Washington, facility, an unplanned discharge occurred. While employees worked to correct the treatment issue on site immediately, the company regrets that notification was inadvertently delayed to the Three Rivers Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. Foster Farms has an excellent record of permit compliance and self-reporting. The company is reinforcing notification procedures throughout facility operations. We have also taken steps to prevent future wastewater issues. Foster Farms intends to pay the penalty,” Foster Farms said in a statement.

'CycloBurn' Combustion System produces energy from waste

Dr. Seong W. Lee, Morgan State University professor and lab director for the School of Engineering’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department, and his research team are the recipients of a $100,000 Phase 1 award from the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII). The award will aid in the transition of his CycloBurn Combustion System from prototype to commercialization. The innovative system uses a proprietary methodology to produce energy from waste biomass, particularly poultry litter while protecting the environment. This marks the third Phase 1 MII Award Morgan has received to-date.
For businesses involved in the U.S. poultry industry, a number of which operate along the Chesapeake Bay in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, the CycloBurn Combustion System will provide a cost-effective solution to disposing of 100 percent of produced poultry wastes by repurposing it to produce energy. The efficiency of the combustion process will not only reduce capital and operating costs associated with heating barns or providing electricity for facilities, but it also will dramatically decrease the levels of air pollution and eutrophication (e.g. high nitrogen, phosphorus) potentially going into the nation’s largest estuary system. Most farms use this waste for fertilizer or landfills, which may cause aquatic life-killing nutrients to enter the watershed.
“We are very pleased to receive this award which will allow us to continue our research on the conversion of waste biomass to energy while mitigating any negative effects on the environment,” said Dr. Lee. “Given that Maryland’s poultry farmers produce approximately 393 tons of waste per year, the Maryland Innovation Initiative recognized the potential commercial application of a full-scale system and provided us with the resources to assist in bringing it to market.”
The next step for Dr. Lee and his research team will be to validate a lab-scale prototype and provide a full-scale design for the CycloBurn system. After the fuel characterization, systematic tests, and data analysis are complete, production will begin. To supplement the MII funding for commercializing Dr. Lee’s research, the university will seek additional funding from federal agencies and other translational research economic development grants to develop this system for other applications. Additional industries that could benefit from the CycloBurn Combustion System include waste management, energy producers, co-generation industries and environmental groups.
Since 1989, Dr. Lee has made significant contributions to development of the efficient combustion process and emissions control technologies for fluidized bed combustion systems, gasification processes, design and testing of biomass and biofuel reactors, renewable energy technologies and related technologies. During his academic career, Dr. Lee has developed numerous research proposals, in addition to several outreach and joint educational programs. Dr. Lee joined the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Morgan in 1991.

China’s NAU: Dead livestock can become safe fertilizer

A team of researchers at China’s Nanjing Agriculture University (NAU) have developed a novel technique for turning carcasses of diseased livestock and effluent waste into a safe organic fertilizer, according to a recent announcement made by Professor Shen Qirong.
Shen and a team of researchers and graduate students have been working on developing approaches to remediate slaughterhouse waste since 2010, according to a report provided by Smart Agriculture Analytics. The technique, which has been perfected for poultry waste, is aimed at addressing the risk of the spread of disease and environmental pollution caused by current livestock waste processing methods that include deep burial, chemical-based processing, burning, and composting. NAU experts state that all of those methods have some sort of environmental impact.
According to Shen, the breakthrough means that waste problems that were once costly for livestock producers can now actually be viewed as a source of income. The process can rapidly break down fats and produce an amino-acid based liquid fertilizer, Shen adds, as well as a high quality bio-organic fertilizer. It is also possible to use the fatty byproducts as a bio-fuel, the NAU researcher said.

Poultry waste permit progress aim of Delaware, federal agencies

Regulators from the federal and Delaware state governments are working together toward streamlined water protection rules and permits for poultry and livestock producers in the state.
During an August 5 Delaware Department of Agriculture Nutrient Management Commission forum, Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin said the staffs from the federal and state entities hope to create a policy “that makes sense,” the News Journal reported. The forum was held as a means to get public input on water-related issues.
"We're looking at a general permit in Delaware, which is a much more streamlined process," Garvin said, adding that "there will be a trigger" requiring more elaborate applications and permits for some operations.
The Agriculture Nutrient Management Commission was created by legislators in 1999 as a farming-led attempt to deal with runoff tied to the management or mismanagement of poultry litter. The runoff has been blamed for the declining water quality in the state's rivers and bays.
Disputes over progress and verification remained after the commission was formed. They even intensified as national court battles emerged over EPA attempts to require individual, customized wastewater permits for larger farms, and increasing pressure on Delaware to do its share in reducing pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

O’Kane Poultry fined £1,000 for pollution offenses

O'Kane Poultry, a vertically-integrated chicken and turkey production company based in Northern Ireland, was fined a total of £1,000 (US$1,604. 21) plus court costs for making polluting discharges to a waterway. The company was fined for £500 (US$802.09) for each of two offenses at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on September 24.
On March 23, 2012, a report of a pollution incident at a Ballymena poultry farm, owned and operated by O'Kane Poultry, was made to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency via the pollution hotline by a member of the public. Upon investigation, an officer from the agency observed poultry farm waste impacting on the Burn Gushet River. The source of the polluting discharge was traced to the reported poultry farm.
On November 28, 2012, the agency received another report of a pollution incident from a member of the public via the pollution hotline. The reported act was traced to a chicken and turkey slaughtering and rendering facility, also in Ballymena and owned and operated by O'Kane Poultry. During an investigation, localized chicken waste contamination was found on the bed of Deerfin Burn. The source of the polluting discharge was traced to an O'Kane Poultry chicken and turkey slaughtering and rendering facility in Ballymena.
"The circumstances around the cause of each of the incidents were beyond the knowledge of the company, and therefore not in any way a deliberate or negligent act on the part of the company or its employees," a company spokesman said. "As soon as we became aware of these matters, we immediately implemented corrective actions. O'Kane Poultry takes its environmental obligations very seriously and has no record of any previous prosecutions by the Environment Agency."

Poultry distributor adopts technology to combat waste

A change in France's waste legislation in July 2010 encouraged SFPA, a poultry distribution company, to examine the potential of installing candling machines at its Mûr de Bretagne, France site. Apart from being able to determine live from clear or damaged embryos, candling technology can reduce the amount of waste generated by a hatchery.
"Hatch residue is the main source of waste at our sites. It consists of egg shell, fluff and dead or infertile eggs. The non-hatchable eggs are mostly of liquid consistency and being able to separate these from the hatch significantly reduces our waste treatment cost. When the subsidies we received to handle this waste dropped, our costs increased dramatically and we turned to iD Projects to provide us with a solution," said Yann Ruelland, hatchery manager at SFPA.
Since April 2010, SFPA has been using the iD Twin candling machine from iD Projects, a hatchery technology provider. It is capable of processing up to 100,000 eggs per hour and uses artificial vision equipment, according to the company. This technology takes more than 1,200 surface measurements across each egg top to identify and remove clear and dead embryos. 

Perdue AgriRecycle cleans up poultry industry, image

Since its inception in 2001, Perdue AgriRecycle has helped rid poultry producers of more than 860,000 tons of litter and converted the waste into usable organic products.
Through the AgriRecycle operation, Perdue Farms goes to poultry growing operations and removes the waste free of charge, Perdue Farms Chairman Jim Perdue said at the Poultry Processor Workshop on May 15.  Once the litter is converted, rather than being a potential contaminant to the area water supply, it becomes a helpful resource for companies like Scotts, Espoma, Davisson Golf and Wedgworth that make lawn and garden fertilizer products.

Helping producers protect resources, operations
One of the biggest environmental issues the poultry industry faces is what to do with litter. In Maryland, where Perdue Farms has multiple operations, there are strict regulations on how waste is managed and kept away from water sources.
Perdue cited a case where the Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental group, filed a lawsuit against Hudson Farms, one of Perdue's growers. The alliance alleged waste from the Hudson property was polluting the Chesapeake Bay and Pocomoke River. Though the suit did have a near-devastating impact on the Hudson operation at the time, it was eventually dropped by the court.
Perdue AgriRecycle seeks to help poultry producers avoid that type of turmoil, Perdue said.

Benefits go beyond bottom line
The AgriRecyle venture has not yet been directly profitable, but Perdue believes it has helped the company's overall image. The judge who heard the Hudson case is one person in particular who now has a better perception of Perdue Farms, Perdue said.
"The judge was very impressed. Sometimes there are side benefits," he said.
It is increasingly important for poultry processors to have endeavors that protect the environment, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is good for the image of the companies and the industry as a whole.
"Consumers, customers and communities are the new regulators in our industry," Perdue said. "They want to know what you're doing to impact the environment, locally and/or in a bigger way."

Share the good news
Acting in an environmentally responsible way is only half of the job. Perdue urged processors to share stories about the good things they are doing, just as he did during the workshop.
"People trust farmers, but they don't necessarily trust agribusiness. Our job is to get the word out," Perdue said. "It is a changing world. Somebody will define you, unless you go out and actively define yourself."

Maryland budget includes proposed help for sued poultry farmer

The Maryland House of Delegates amended the state budget on March 13 to make up to $300,000 available to help poultry producer Alan Hudson and his operation pay legal bills after being sued unsuccessfully over alleged poultry pollution. Hudson was a grower for Perdue Farms, and both were sued in March 2010 by the Waterkeeper Alliance for allegedly discharging chicken litter into a tributary of the Pocomoke River.
Delegate Norman Conway, D-Wicomico, said the move was appropriate to help the Hudson family on the Eastern Shore, the Associated Press reported. The case prompted criticism from Gov. Martin O'Malley and state lawmakers in both parties.
A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit in December 2012, chastising the Waterkeeper Alliance for not conducting adequate sampling. The group was represented by the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic.
"This became such an issue for the farming community of our state and even more so for the Eastern Shore," said Conway. "This family was put under tremendous stress when it should have been ended with a decision by the Maryland Department of Environment — and it wasn't — but it did carry this family almost to the brink of losing everything they had."
The budget bill amendment, which was approved on a voice vote, would enable the state's Board of Public Works to make up to $300,000 available to the family, based on documented legal expenses and court costs.

House of Raeford Farms fined for Clean Water Act violations

House of Raeford Farms has been ordered by a federal judge to pay a $150,000 fine for sending untreated wastewater containing blood and turkey parts into a city treatment plant.
In addition, the judge sentenced the North Carolina poultry processor to two years' probation and ordered the company to pay a special assessment of $4,000 for 10 counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act, according to an Associated Press report.
The U.S. Justice Department said that the company allowed employees to send untreated wastewater contaminated with blood, grease and body parts from slaughtered turkeys directly to the city of Raeford's wastewater treatment plant without telling city officials. The company has said the government admitted during a previous trial that none of the materials it said went into the town's sewer system reached the environment.

Georgia poultry industry affected by new stormwater runoff legislation

Proposed Georgia legislation calling on poultry facilities near impaired streams to capture rain in heavy storms could have strong implications for the state's poultry industry, says the Georgia Poultry Federation.
Under the new proposal, facilities with a history of pollution must take serious action to clean up water discharged into streams. Those that don't meet water quality goals in three years will be under stricter scrutiny, and repeat offenders will have to meet certain levels or face penalties.
In particular, poultry companies are concerned about the standard for fecal coliform. One quarter of Georgia's poultry plants will be affected by the new requirements for sites near streams deemed impaired because of high levels of the bacteria, according to Mike Giles, head of the Georgia Poultry Federation. Flat Creek, for example, which flows through a heavy industrial area, is so contaminated with the bacteria that it has been listed as impaired. Among the companies with processing facilities along Flat Creek is Pilgrim's Corp.
But poultry companies say they aren't the only ones responsible for high levels of the bacteria. "Fecal coliform is a challenging pollutant to measure and also to control through a permit process," said Giles. "It is everywhere in the environment." 

Egg farm's wastewater treatment system recycles nutrients

Dave Thompson of Pearl Valley Eggs explains each step of the farm's innovative wastewater treatment system, which utilizes aerobic bacteria and a reed bed to recycle nutrients from the egg wash water. Watch the video here.

California biogas plant to turn poultry waste into fuel

California's Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved an energy purchase agreement and land lease for a biogas plant that will convert chicken manure to electricity.
The plant will be part of the county's "Farm to Fuel" project, and will have a fuel cell that will convert the natural gas produced by the bacterial digestion of 2 million birds-worth of chicken manure into electricity. The power from the fuel cell will then provide 25% of the local wastewater treatment plant's power consumption for moving drinking water around the county. “Projects such as the Farms to Fuel initiative benefits a broad sector of our community,” said water agency director Mike McGuire. “Jobs are created, clean energy is produced and an agricultural waste stream is brought to beneficial use."
Construction on the plant will begin in September and the plant is set to be operational in the spring of 2012.

Regulation that required broiler farms to apply for discharge permit repealed

The National Chicken Council and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association have released a statement approving of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to repeal a regulation imposed on poultry farms by the Environmental Protection Agency that requires poultry farmers to apply for a discharge permit.
“America’s poultry farmers are good stewards of the land,” The NCC and USPOULTRY said, calling the decision a victory for common sense. “The EPA’s requirement that farms had to apply for a discharge permit, even though no discharge occurs, was an onerous and unnecessary bureaucratic invention." According to the organizations, broiler chicken farms keep animals indoors on dry litter systems and do not discharge waste, and they argued that the EPA had no authority to impose a duty to get a permit unless there is an actual discharge.

Virginia studying poultry litter as energy source

Virginia state officials are looking into using poultry litter as an alternative way to generate electricity and help Shenandoah Valley poultry farmers dispose of animal waste.
The Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Conservation and Recreation have partnered to study the possibility of a power plant that would convert poultry waste into electricity. The goal, according to Environmental Quality spokesman Bill Hayden, is to reduce nutrient pollution in a way that doesn't contribute to air pollution.

2010 National Poultry and Animal Waste Management Symposium

The North Carolina Animal and Poultry Waste Management Symposium will be held in Greensboro, N.C., from October 26-28.
Topics to be covered include EPA enforcement status, air emissions, carbon credits, renewable energy standards, subsurface litter application and environmental issues impacting performance.
For more information including the symposium brochure, visit the North Carolina’s Cooperative Extension Service website.

USPOULTRY sponsors poultry wastewater operator training

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association will sponsor a Poultry Wastewater Operator Training Program, May 25-26, at the association’s office in Tucker, Ga.
The course provides an introduction to the regulatory structure governing poultry plant effluents, along with a primer in math, chemistry and microbiology. It will include a unit-by-unit discussion of the predominant equipment and systems used to properly treat poultry effluent prior to discharge.
While the course is applicable to anyone involved in poultry wastewater treatment, it is particularly useful for operators and supervisors who have been involved in poultry wastewater treatment for four years or less. The program includes 14 hours of classroom instruction and a 200-page operator manual.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion, and continuing education units may be awarded upon approval of the course curriculum by state certification boards. Credit may vary from state to state, but typically 12 hours of continuing education units will be awarded to certified operators who attend.
The course will be led by professional engineer Paul Bredwell, vice president of environmental programs at USPOULTRY, and Dr. Brian Kiepper, assistant professor at the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Class size will be limited to 20 people on a first-come, first-served basis.
The enrollment fee is $195 per person for USPOULTRY member companies and $390 per person for nonmember companies. The fee includes lunch both days.
For more information and to register for the Poultry Wastewater Operators Training Program, contact USPOULTRY at 1.770.493.9401, or go to the association’s Web site.

Idaho moves to standardize livestock regulation

Idaho’s senate has passed a bill that would designate the Idaho State Department of Agriculture as the monitoring agency for swine, poultry and their waste, according to the Idaho Reporter. The responsibility currently falls to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.
The bill now moves to the Idaho House. Concentrated animal feeding operations would be required to have state permits, the specifics of which would vary for small, medium, large and extra large operations. The legislation would not require CAFOs to share their nutrient management plans for animal waste.

Oklahoma wants poultry companies to pay $25M in attorney's fees

In addition to requesting that U.S. courts limit poultry litter fertilizer application in the Illinois River watershed to 65 pounds per acre, the state of Oklahoma wants poultry companies to implement watershed remediation, pay civil penalties for alleged pollution since 1993 and pay for the state’s attorney fees, according to the Associated Press.
Oklahoma’s attorney fees total about $25M, according to the state’s attorney general.
Poultry companies should be required to remove all poultry waste from the watershed that exceeds the proposed 65-pound limit, a state said in a filing with the court. It also wants poultry producers to be subject to reporting and monitoring requirements.
Attorneys for the poultry industry said in their filing that restrictions on the use of poultry litter would impose huge economic burdens on both poultry producers and the farmers who use the product as a fertilizer. They said that the state has failed to prove that poultry litter imposes or will impose a “substantiated threat to human health, drinking water, recreational use or wildlife.”
Closing arguments in the case begin February 18.

Poultry waste to fuel project

Fibrowatt, a member of the Homeland Renewable Energy Group, announced it has entered agreements with the Fagen company for the design and construction of its first biomass-fueled power project in North Carolina. The primary fuel consumed by this power plant will be poultry droppings.
The North Carolina project will produce 55 megawatts of renewable electricity, enough power annually to supply over 40,000 homes. This will help the state meet its commitment to renewable energy, provide jobs and give farmers an alternative use for poultry waste.

Judge allows pollution reports in poultry trial

The federal judge in the Oklahoma vs. poultry companies lawsuit is allowing government attorneys to submit reports on issues with chicken waste in the Illinois River watershed, according to reports.
Previously, opposing council convinced U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell to leave out some of the pollution reports.
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson argued the poultry companies did not flag the reports as problematic before the trial, whereas attorneys for the poultry companies called the reports political.