Dorchester Co. judge orders Md. Dept. of Environment to revise wastewater permit for Valley Proteins

LINKWOOD, Md. – The Circuit Court of Dorchester County has ruled that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) must revise a wastewater discharge permit for Valley Proteins’ animal waste rendering plant, owned by Darling Ingredients, in Linkwood.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth, Friends of the Nanticoke River, ShoreRivers, and Wicomico Environmental Trust challenged the permit in Feb. 2023.

The plaintiffs alleged that the permit would not do enough to reduce the plant’s discharge of wastewater. They added that the wastewater contributes to unhealthy water quality in the Transquaking River, Higgins Mill Pond, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Plaintiffs say the permit would have allowed Valley Proteins to expand its wastewater discharge from an annual average of 150,000 gallons per day to 575,000 gallons per day if the plant meets certain discharge requirements for ammonia, biological oxygen demand, and dissolved oxygen.

With this decision, environmental advocates called for a revised permit that “better controls the rendering plant’s discharge” in a press release.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision to require MDE to revise its permit. Valley Proteins contributes significantly to the annual nitrogen load discharged into the Transquaking River watershed every year. The previous permit did not ensure that the river and Higgins Mill Pond are safe for swimming, fishing, and wildlife habitat, as mandated by Maryland and federal law,” said Director of Advocacy for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Alan Girard, in a press release.

MDE spokesman Jay Apperson tells WMDT that the department is reviewing the court’s opinion and “will respond appropriately.”