Poultry farms in Md. face policing

Proposal would require permits, steps for manure management

The permits do not set a regular schedule of inspections by the state. Summers said his agency has only 35 water pollution inspectors, and they must also monitor scores of sewage treatment plants, construction sites, wetlands and other locations.

"We do not have an adequate number of inspectors to do all the inspections we'd like to do," said Summers. "So we are going to prioritize our inspections to only those that have the highest environmental and public health risks."

After chicken manure was blamed for an outbreak of toxic algae called Pfiesteria on the Pocomoke River in 1997, the state passed a law requiring most farms to have plans designed to minimize their use of fertilizer.

But under the law, there are only recommendations - not requirements - for how a poultry operation should limit runoff. Farmers can write the plans themselves. Any monitoring is by the Department of Agriculture, not the Department of the Environment.

State data show that water quality in the Pocomoke and most other waterways statewide hasn't improved since then.

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