Baltimore, MD - In continuing crackdowns on pollution from poultry producers, Maryland is planning to levy steep fines against Allen Family Foods, Inc., the company president said.
Talks with the state broke down over how to settle complaints arising from the company's Eastern Shore plant.
Poultry has become the focus of state efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay after last summer's outbreaks of the toxic microbe Pfiesteria piscicida. Experts believe chicken waste is washing into the bay tributaries and is among the pollutants feeding the microbe.
Last week, the state filed a lawsuit asking a judge to impose as much as $5.4 million in fines on Tyson Foods Inc., the nation's largest poultry producer. The state Department of the Environment said Tyson continued to dump thousands of gallons of poultry waste near its Berlin, MD, processing plant for nearly two months after the state ordered it to stop.
Allen President Charles C. Allen III vowed to fight the environment department and accused state officials of allowing politics and media attention to drive policy.
The company offered to settle claims for $150,000 to $200,000, plus pay an additional $1 million for anti-pollution projects but the state pushed for $900,000 in cash and rejected many of the pollution plans.
J. L. Hearn, director of the environment department's water management administration, confirmed the negotiation positions outlined by Allen. The state has yet to decide whether to file a lawsuit, but legal action is being seriously considered, he said.
"Generally when we file a court action, we seek the maximum penalty," Hearn said. In the case of Allen's company, that would be $3.6 million, which is $10,000 a day for a year, he said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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