Advocates say burden of excess manure disposal should not be on small farmers, taxpayers
(Annapolis, MD) Waterkeepers Chesapeake and several local Waterkeepers are amoung a broad coalition of environmental groups that are banding together during the 2016 Maryland General Assembly to support legislation requiring poultry companies to take responsibility for the manure their chickens produce. Excess manure can saturate farm fields and pollutes local creeks, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay if not handled properly. The legislation will seek to protect Maryland farmers and taxpayers from costs that should be borne by the large poultry companies.
Legislation set to be introduced in the coming days will require poultry companies to remove and properly dispose of all poultry litter for which a chicken grower does not have state-approved plans.
Agriculture is the single, largest source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland waterways. About 44 percent of the nitrogen and 57 percent of the phosphorus polluting the Bay comes from farms, and much of that comes from animal manure. But dollar for dollar, reducing pollution to the Chesapeake Bay from farms is far cheaper than reducing it from any other source: sewage plants, stormwater systems and septic systems.
The issue is urgent. The amount of excess chicken manure in Maryland could soon be even greater. Large industrial farms are expanding – including 200 new poultry houses now permitted for construction on the Delmarva Peninsula. This includes about 70 in Somerset County, with Wicomico and Worcester counties also experiencing considerable new growth. This construction would mean an additional 10 million chickens and about 20 million more pounds of manure per year.
Big chicken companies have the necessary resources and the responsibility to help Maryland’s manure overload problem. If poultry companies become responsible for their waste, that would ensure Maryland taxpayers, and farmers, no longer bear the sole burden of reducing pollution.
TAKE ACTION to Support Poultry Litter Management Act
Groups supporting the legislation include: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Food & Water Watch and the Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition (Anacostia Riverkeeper, Assateague Coastal Trust, Audubon Naturalist Society, Blue Water Baltimore, Center for Progressive Reform, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Clean Water Action, Environment Maryland, Environmental Integrity Project, Gunpowder Riverkeeper, League of Women Voters of Maryland, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Maryland Pesticide Education Network, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, Potomac Riverkeeper, Sierra Club – Maryland Chapter, South River Federation, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, West/Rhode Riverkeeper).
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