SALISBURY, Md.- The Wicomico Environmental Trust hosted a discussion Tuesday night at Wor-Wic Community College about DAF tanks, which stands for Dissolved Air Floatation.
These tanks house waste from agriculture. The issue arose about 5 years ago in Wicomico County when neighbors complained of the odor coming from a newly installed DAF tank near their home.
Others, like Judith Stribling of the Friends of the Nanticoke River, say these tanks can also leak dangerous chemicals in our air and waterways.
“The most important thing to me is to make the [poultry] industry viable, to keep it viable because it keeps farming viable and farming keeps our rural way of life viable and these are very important to me,” said Stribling.
That's why Stribling wants to make changes to how its waste is disposed of so it can be sustainable.
“I think what I took away from this is we have the ability to bring all these diverse voices together and have them connect. It's a start, it's not a finished product and there’s a lot more work to be done,” said Stribling.
Stribling says the poultry industry’s resistance to change is frustrating.
“The resistance to these new processes is great enough that it really stymies things,” said Stribling. “I think that we’re stuck in a technology that worked to solve a problem, but has created its own problem.”
Holly Porter of the Delmarva Chicken Association says the ‘chicken community’ is not resistant to change, but it cannot hurt farmers.
“We are always looking for technology, but it’s important to know that you know we are sustainable, and we want to be here on Delmarva for another 100 years,” said Porter.
Those in the poultry industry like Porter believe that DAF tanks are a sustainable way to dispose of its waste, and are not harmful to the environment.
In the face of complaints that the poultry industry has not been transparent, Porter says this allegation is incorrect.
“We believe that our chicken community has tried and continues to be as transparent as possible. We have said numerous times, we are not here to defend bad actors either, so I agree with a lot of folks and some of the comments. I just wanna make sure and hope that we continue to be as transparent as possible and you know just to be able to share some of the good that we’ve been doing throughout the years,” said Porter.
In all, Stribling and Porter were encouraged by the open dialogue.
“We’re lucky to live in an area where people will talk with each other. People who have very different opinions can still be respectful and intrigued with what each other are saying,” said Stribling.
