New Lawsuit Demands Accountability for Factory Farm Pollution on the Eastern Shore
Baltimore – Food & Water Watch and Assateague Coastal Trust, represented by lawyers at the Columbia Law School Environmental Clinic, announced they filed opening arguments in a case against the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) last Friday that tries to force the Agency to demand more accountability from the highly polluting factory farm industry on the Eastern Shore. These facilities, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), currently operate under Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permits issued by MDE that provide for minimal inspection and no water quality monitoring to assure compliance.
“The permits that MDE gives to these industrial facilities do not allow for any discharges of pollutants from their production areas, but we know these facilities are one of the biggest contributors in Maryland to the Bay’s ongoing pollution problem,” stated Scott Edwards, co-founder of Food & Water Justice, the legal arm of Food & Water Watch. “The lack of oversight and monitoring means the permits are little more than symbolic gestures, under which factory farms can continue to pollute at will.”
The Problem with Nutrient Pollution from Factory Farms in Maryland
A March 2015 United States Geological Survey report singles out industrial agriculture on Maryland’s Eastern Shore as a dominant source of that state’s contribution to the ongoing Bay problem, noting the concentrations of nitrogen in groundwater, and nitrogen and phosphorus in surface waters, are well above natural levels and are among the highest in the nation. The amount of pollution flowing off these facilities persists despite historic levels of federal and state funding for the industry to implement failing conservation practices, even as this industry launches an unprecedented expansion across Delmarva.
Under the CWA, all permitted industries must monitor and report their pollution discharges to show that they are in compliance with the terms of the permit. “The only industry that gets away without monitoring its discharges is the factory farm industry,” said Kathy Phillips, Assateague Coastal Trust Executive Director. “That means that they can never be held accountable for polluting like other industries are, and the results of this irresponsible exemption are clearly evident in the Bay.”
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
I agree! We should ban all "factory farms" and let everyone eat free range, organic chicken. Sure, it would cost $15 per pound but Obama says we have a vibrant economy so we can afford it.
ReplyDeleteIf they could find a way to keep the chickens from pooping it would all be okay.
ReplyDeleteWe need to find a way to stop the left side of the bay from pooping on the eastern shore 9:31.
ReplyDeletethat woman is a MENACE!
ReplyDeleteOther than Food Lion, where does Cathy think chicken comes from?
ReplyDeleteThe chicken company's are looking at a way to add the manure into poultry feed
ReplyDeleteThese people need to take a hike and take Kathy with them!!!
ReplyDeleteI personally shunn these people and those that support them. How? One of their contributors and enablers missed out on a job worth thousands and thousands of dollars because they were friends of these river and creek people. Did I tell them? Nope, don't want a lawsuit, but we live in a small and interconnected community. If you do business with these people or their supporters, guess what, I don't do business with you.
ReplyDeleteI started to read the article with an open mind, not being a big fan of those CAFOs; then, seeing Kathy Phillips is mixed up in it, I knew it was yet another wild-eyed liberal attempt to point the finger at some imaginary boogeyman and take him down. This is not funny at all. She, and any organization she is affiliated with, are just not to be believed. Is the once-noble Assateague Coastal Trust so rabidly zealous now that it can't see the lack of credibility she brings to any argument?
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when liberals are allowed to initiate policies concerning issues which they HAVE no experience in dealing with. Also, when liberals try to initiate common sense policies, The policies are usually so broken that the policies never work and destroy our economy. If we want to save our economy and our country, PLEASE VOTE REPUBLICAN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
ReplyDeleteThese idiots should worry about the pollution around BALTIMORE ANNAPOLIS AND DC. They have the industrial pollutants and illegal waste water dumped in the BAY on a consistent / daily basis.
ReplyDeleteIf it so bad over here, why do they move on the SHORE? They need to stay where they off the SHORE and correct the problems over there.
I've said it before ..and.. I'll say it again: Kathy Phillips is an idiot. Her band of friends and renegades are idiots. They are a product of ineffective birth control. Hopefully people from all over the Mid-Atlantic region have and will continue to learn that this group of people are of NO value to any of us. Food does NOT originate on a store shelf and animals naturally S**T, so take your crappy whining somewhere else. Thanks for letting me vent.
ReplyDelete