Delaware must become leader in clean poultry production

Two major Sussex County chicken producers are under fire: Mountaire, following a failure at its wastewater plant, and Allen Harim, after announcing plans to send wastewater eight miles away, instead of into a nearby creek.

Both companies have sparked sustained opposition from residents whose wells are contaminated with nitrates or who fear new spraying will aggravate existing problems. Both companies are planning major improvements to their wastewater systems they say will rank them among the best in the nation.

Well-designed, multimillion-dollar improvements should be welcome news. These investments should reduce new nitrates entering the groundwater and flowing to the Inland Bays and the Broadkill River.

But new wastewater may add to decades of nutrients spread or sprayed on fields. People living near Mountaire or Allen Harim's proposed spray fields say years of pollution have already ruined their wells. For them, any more nitrates in groundwater is too much.

Refereeing the debate is the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control – an agency so far behind in its permitting process that citizens do not trust its ability to monitor the safety of their water.

The two plants promise cutting-edge technology. Those investments should be matched with a state-of-the-art DNREC capable of holding these plants, along with the Perdue plant in Georgetown, to the high standards they promise.

Delaware needs a poultry czar, trained in the latest wastewater technology – a person and a new division capable of ramping up permitting and inspections, and effectively policing mistakes. Sussex County has always ranked No. 1 among broiler-producing counties nationwide, but that ranking cannot come at the expense of clean water in our wells, our creeks and our bays.

New investment by industry must be matched by new investment in a robust, cutting-edge DNREC that can detect and avert problems, and win public confidence.

Corporate innovation combined with effective state oversight would make Delaware a national leader in a new era of poultry production that not only feeds the world but also keeps our wells and waterways clean and healthy.