Mountaire officials amend plan and remove sludge disposal

Mountaire Farms of Delaware officials have apparently amended their plans and no longer expect to apply sludge as part of a wastewater disposal plan at the Route 24 processing plant.

The poultry company has filed a conditional-use application to apply sludge and spray wastewater on a 352-acre parcel on both sides of Mount Joy Road and Townsend Road near its Millsboro plant. Mountaire currently has 920 acres of farmland in use near Millsboro for spray irrigation.

During a Nov. 5 Sussex County Council public hearing, Mountaire's director of environmental compliance Tanya Rogers testified the company has no plans to apply sludge, although sludge application was included in the original application.

Mountaire officials testified during the Oct. 10 Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission hearing that they were planning to apply sludge on a section of the parcel.

Since October 2017, all sludge from the wastewater treatment facility has been trucked off site for disposal at out-of-state landfills, Rogers said.

On the recommendation of Councilman Doug Hudson, council voted to leave the public record open until 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, for councilmen to ask questions of staff and state agencies. The deadline for responses to questions is 4:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 9. The public and the applicant will then have until 4:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 16, to comment in writing on the responses to councilmen's questions.

At its Oct. 24 meeting, the planning and zoning commission recommended approval of the application.

Commissioner Kim Hoey Stevenson said concerns expressed by area residents about impact on groundwater would be addressed by regulations already in place, which are monitored by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “This is consistent with agricultural uses on nearby properties used for spray irrigation,” she said.

No increase in production

Under the Mountaire plan, wastewater would be pumped to the new parcel via underground pipes from a yet-to-be-built $50 million wastewater treatment plant.

Under a 2017 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control permit, the company sprays up to 2.6 million gallons of wastewater a day.

Councilman Irwin “I.G.” Burton asked county engineer Hans Medlarz for a comparison to the amount of wastewater generated by the plant. Medlarz said the county's Wolf Neck treatment facility can spray 2 million gallons per day on a 400-acre parcel.

Mountaire currently sprays wastewater on 13 farm fields near the plant, and has permits for five additional fields for sludge application, said Mountaire Vice President Mike Tirrell.

“With this plan we will have more land to spray water. We are not going to increase production or the amount of wastewater,” he said.

Tirrell was asked when the upgraded wastewater treatment plant would be constructed. He replied the company is waiting for a construction permit from DNREC, and once the permit is issued, construction would take two years.

Rogers said Mountaire must submit monthly environmental reports to DNREC on its spray-irrigation operation, and state environmental officials can conduct unannounced visits to inspect the site. She said over the past 18 months, DNREC officials have conducted five unannounced inspections.

Opponents: Require assessments

Andrea Green, a Millsboro attorney, questioned the change in the company's plan. “It's my recollection that the application not only includes wastewater but also sludge and sanitary sewer,” she said.

Keith Steck of Milton said if sludge is not part of the application, then it should be removed from the wording. “They can still do it, and we have to live with the consequences,” he said. “Wastewater is a general term they are using because it does contain sanitary sewer.”

Green said because of pending litigation involving Mountaire filed by DNREC and hundreds of area residents, council should deny or at least defer its vote on the application until the litigation is resolved.

Green said a Sept. 13 Superior Court gag order has had a chilling effect on individuals who might want to speak in opposition. “It's unclear what they can say,” she said.

Green said while agricultural activities are permitted on the AR-1, agricultural-residential, zoned parcel, in her opinion, Mountaire's plan to dispose of industrial waste on the land – up to 2.4 million gallons per day – is not an agricultural activity.

“You say this is not an ag practice. Would a farmer spreading manure be an ag practice?” asked Councilman John Rieley.

Green replied that farmers do not spread manure or apply chemicals throughout the year.

Steck said council should look at the current permits issued by DNREC to Mountaire and also ascertain what type of discharge permit will be issued for the new fields.

Steck said council should require Mountaire to pay to have all residential wells in the area tested for possible pollutants, including nitrogen and heavy metals. “Then you will have a baseline to compare to in the future. You owe that to the residents,” he said.

Maria Payan of Selbyville said council should require health and environmental impact assessments before taking a vote. In addition, she said, the public comment period should be extended 30 days. “This should be defeated outright based on the history of activity by Mountaire. What I've seen is very disturbing,” she said.