Several environmental groups are concerned about a new five-year permit that the state issued to Valley Proteins, a Dorchester County industrial facility with a history of environmental violations.
Environmental groups concerned by new permit for Eastern Shore facility with history of pollution, considering legal action capitalgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capitalgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Three local environmental groups say they plan to sue the owner of the Linkwood, Maryland, rendering facility over waste it discharges into the Transquaking River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary.
The Dorchester County facility, owned by Winchester, Va.-based Valley Proteins, takes byproducts of the chicken industry blood, feathers, heads and other body parts and processes them into protein for animal food. Over the last five years, the facility has been cited for numerous significant violations of the Clean Water Act and was fined a total of $5,000 by state regulators, according to an Environmental Protection Agency database.
The three environmental groups ShoreRivers, Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued the notice of intent to sue April 13.
Environmental groups are asking that Valley Proteins, a Dorchester County plant that boils down chicken feathers, bones and fats to be used in animal feed and biofuels, be required to address pollution problems, and possibly pay a fine of more than $500 million for not complying with the law.