The Transquaking is a small and fragile system that feeds directly into the tidal waters of Fishing Bay and on into the Chesapeake. Pollution has long been so serious in this system that public notices warning against swimming and consuming fish have been posted downstream from the Linkwood area. MDE’s own mission statement identifies them as an agency charged with preserving and restoring the public waters of Maryland. The current estimate is that VP produces approximately 40% of the waterway’s pollution.

At a virtual hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 the owner of Higgins Mill Pond – which receives the downstream flow of the upper Transquaking- testified that two dogs belonging to his family died from exposure to a toxic bacteria within 24 hours of swimming in these waters.

In July 2020, another property owner on the shores of the Mill Pond reported to DCPG that he observed a large-scale fish kill in the Pond. DCPG reported this spill to MDE and their representative promised to record the event. No action was taken in response to this fish kill.

In August 2020, a local farmer reported to DCPG that an employee of VP had called him to report that a cooker at the facility had malfunctioned and that truckloads of incoming unprocessed chicken offal were “being dumped on the parking lot.” He reported a state of panic at the facility. DCPG reported this to MDE through our attorney at CLA which resulted in a site visit. An MDE inspector initially indicated that there was no significant evidence of pollution discharge but a follow up inspection revealed the numerous unreported chlorine discharges mentioned above.

Both the current limit of discharge and VP’s requested increased discharge have been given 3 years to come into compliance by MDE. In other words, after years of continued violations, the facility can continue to operate for 3 more years while it supposedly corrects itself. The mechanism for monitoring this self-correction is not stated in the draft permit.

The proposed new permit makes almost no mention of the “sludge” issue, a process through which VP transfers the semi-solid waste products of the cooking process onto a trucking company called Denali. Denali has been transporting this unregulated industrial waste into a large holding tank on the Wicomico side of the Nanticoke River from which it is later applied as fertilizer on farmland.

Similarly, the proposed new permit does not outline any procedure for addressing the ongoing issue of air pollution and noxious odors emanating from the rendering plant. Currently, residents in the East New Market area are reporting having to close their windows when the wind blows from the direction of the VP plant.

While there is a need for handling the byproducts of the large-scale chicken processing industry on the Eastern Shore the VP plant is situated in a terrible location - a small and fragile watershed is being asked to handle waste from a whole region.