Perdue Foods’ Georgetown-area chicken plant is facing nearly $85,000 in fines and penalties after state officials discovered the facility discharged polluted wastewater into a nearby waterway.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced on Friday that Perdue’s wastewater treatment plant discharged effluent with high levels of ammonia, nitrogen and enterococcus bacteria into Savannah Ditch, a tributary of the Broadkill River.
“Effluent violations from the facility added excess volumes of pollutants in the form of nutrients and potentially harmful bacteria to the state’s surface waters, and contributed to the impairment of the state’s waterways,” DNREC said in a press release.
Through a consent order issued by DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin, Perdue is subject to a $77,300 fine and is required to repay DNREC $7,601.
However, DNREC has agreed to allow Perdue to work with The Nature Conservancy to convert 39 acres of farmland into forest to offset a portion of the penalty.
Successful completion of the project, which Perdue must fund, could offset up to 75 percent of that fine, or up to $57,975.
“This will significantly reduce the loads of nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants going into the Broadkill River from the property to be converted,” the release states.
When excess nitrogen and phosphorus pollute waterways, they can create algal blooms that impact the level of oxygen in those ecosystems, making it difficult for aquatic vegetation and marine species to survive.
Enterococcus bacteria is a type of fecal bacteria that signify the presence of harmful bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illnesses.
Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.