DENTON, MD - In a significant decision made during today's commissioner meeting, a temporary hiatus on DAF (dissolved air flotation) storage facilities has been mandated until the fall. The discussion unfolded with the consideration of four distinct moratoriums related to storage practices, most of the debate focusing on the containment of animal by-products utilized for soil enrichment otherwise known as DAF tanks.
This issue has become a focal point of debate within Caroline County, with residents expressing concerns about the smelly nuisance and fly infestations stemming from the storage facilities. The moratorium passed today seeks to address these community grievances by placing restrictions on DAF storage.
Local residents, such as Mike Woodward, who lives near one of these storage tanks, emphasized the impact on their daily lives, stating, "We want to be here to support the county and commissioners... it will give us our life back and give us our house back."
Similarly, Russ Yates, owner of Holiday Park Campground, echoed sentiments of support for farmers but stressed the need for a reasonable placement of storage facilities to prevent possible effects on residential and commercial areas. "We are all for the farmers but you got to use common sense of where you are going to put these pits that are not going to affect other businesses or residential areas," says Yates.
Commissioner Norman Bartz explained that the moratorium aims to provide an opportunity for a workshop with DAF and poultry companies to figure out certain measures and figure out what can be controlled on both a state and local level. "We can control the storage... but we cannot control the transportation or the application," Bartz clarified.
However, the decision has raised concerns within the Delmarva Chicken Association (DCA), with spokesperson Holly Porter expressing apprehension about the broader implications of the moratorium on farmers. She says she would have liked the commissioners to keep certain language in the resolution that would not include current DAF facilities. She says, "Where I am concerned is, by not adding the amendment of storage after January 1st 2023 which was in the original moratorium, they are now lumping all farmers who have been storing."
"They have now lumped them in together and they have now prohibited those folks from being able to continue to store until November 1st," Porter lamented.
All four moratoria, encompassing the storage of bio-solids, livestock manure, and vegetable processing's, were approved during Tuesday's session. The restrictions are slated to take effect on March 8 and will remain in force until Nov. 1
