Neighbors of a chicken waste tank in Wicomico County have filed suit to shut it down. In our weekly series with the Bay Journal Delmarva Public Media's Don Rush talks with reporter Jeremy Cox about the legal action. The full interview can be heard on this Friday's Delmarva Today at noon on WSDL and WESM.
RUSH: A lawsuit has been filed against what is called a DAF tank in Hebron that stores poultry waste. This is Don Rush. The waste has eventually turned into soil conditioner for agricultural use and has produced severe odors and other problems for the area.The lawsuit has been filed in Wicomico County Circuit Court by neighbors who charge that there have been multiple legal violations and breaches of duty. In a weekly series of Bay Journal, we talked with reporter Jeremy Cox about what this means.
COX: A group of neighbors and two environmental groups have sued the owner and an associated company. They argue that, number one, it's a nuisance to the community. It's filled with leftovers, if you will, from the chicken meat production process. Things like guts and feathers and beaks and all that stuff that basically doesn't turn into human food or dog food. And as you can kind of imagine, it smells pretty bad. It's an open air tank and it's 3 million gallons. So a big stink. And they have other arguments about the roads having to be upgraded because of the truck traffic, and they say that it should have never been permitted in the first place. The owner misrepresented what exactly would it be to the county when the permit was initially approved and therefore remove that permit, remove the tank.
RUSH: That misrepresentation of the claim. What is it they're saying?
COX: Well, they're saying that the owner, Edmond Burns told the county that this was going to be an agricultural tank, but really they say, this is their argument anyway, that the tank is much more industrial. It is operated in an industrial capacity and therefore it should not be allowed in the agricultural area.
RUSH: So I understand though, that the County Council, in Wicomico County, they barred these facilities elsewhere, but left this thing in place. Does that have some significance, do you think?
COX: The plaintiffs, they argued that subsequent to the approval of this tank, which was done administratively, and then the county decided to, as you said, the county council banned these kinds of tanks, but this one was grandfathered in. The plaintiffs argued that because it should never have been permitted in the first place, that if you require them to take it down, it cannot then be rebuilt because of that restriction that now in place, it would no longer have that grandfathered ability at that point. So I think that's where that would be triggered.
RUSH: So what has the company had to say (Denali) had to say about this in response?
COX: Denali is the hauler of the waste that takes it between the chicken production plants and a processing facility that turns it into dog food up in Linkwood and Dorchester County. They told me that it is operating as permitted and that every action is taken there to make sure that it is not a nuisance. Do things to minimize the impact to the community. I haven't been able to talk to Mr. Burns in a while, so he's welcome to give me a call. I would really love if I can make a plug here. Please call me back. Please text me back. I want to have your side of the story.
RUSH: Is there any indication that this lawsuit will succeed?
COX: Hard to say. I think probably what the biggest difference here is while the previous lawsuits have been kind of handled locally, the lead representative of the plaintiffs this time around is Doug Gansler. He was a former Democratic attorney general state of Maryland and ran for governor in the Democratic primary a number of years ago. So they've got some clout this time. He's an acquaintance of one of the neighbors and was interested in the case.
RUSH: Bay Journal reporter Jeremy Cox in lawsuit filed against the lone DAF Tank in Hebron. The full interview can be heard on this Friday's Delmarva Today at noon, on WSDL and WESM. This is Don Rush for Delmarva Public Media.
