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Federal Lawsuit Against Mountaire Over Groundwater Contamination

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Mountaire Farms is being hit with a federal lawsuit filed by the Delaware-based Baird Mandala Brockstedt LLC for allegedly contaminating groundwater around Millsboro.

The suit claims that the Mountaire violated the federal law including the Clean Water Act.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that late last year Mountaire was cited by state environmental regulators for spraying highly contaminated wastewater on farm fields near Millsboro.

The paper reports that the contamination produced unhealthy levels of nitrates in the surrounding private wells.

The suit wants Mountaire to fix its wastewater disposal problems, upgrade its plant and reline its storage lagoons among other things.

In addition, it wants the company to pay $37,500 in penalties for each day of violating the Clean Water Act.

The attorneys also say they plan to file a state-level lawsuit in Sussex county Superior Court.

The company now has 60 to 90 days to respond to the legal actions.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.