WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. -- Clean Up Wicomico will give chicken house owners financial help to remove any unwanted buildings. Officials say the program could benefit the county in many ways.
It aims to reduce the amount of impervious land, where groundwater can't penetrate, but also gives growers an opportunity to get rid of old and rundown chicken houses.
Heather Lankford, Manager Civil Engineer for the Wicomico County Public Works Department, said there are plenty of these rundown buildings throughout the county.
"Approximately 48% of our agricultural farms are poultry and eggs, chicken houses," said Lankford. "We believe that a lot of these lifespans have been exceeded, significantly, and we see a lot of these areas where they are left unused."
Bunky Luffman, Acting Director of Administration for Wicomico County, said the removal of those buildings could present the county with a great opportunity to reclaim impervious land. Luffman also said the reduction of impervious surfaces will help with storm water management.
"When rainwater hits impervious surface, often it will pick up speed, taking other debris with it which then finds its way into our waterways," said Luffman. "So you then have sediment that go into the waterways which can impact the environment."
Poultry building owners would tear down and clean up any unwanted chicken houses, and with state money, the county would help with the rest.
"Right now we have approximately $550,000 in our MS4 funding, which is going to assist in the tipping fees for those that want to participate in this program to help offset some of that cost," said Lankford.
Glen Robinson is a chicken grower in Wicomico County who has two rundown chicken houses he'd like to get rid of, so he was happy when he was told about this new program.
"Well it be an eyesore, it'd be nice to not have them on my property anymore because you know, we don't use them for anything," said Robinson.
A new opportunity for chicken growers that could lead to healthier waterways in Wicomico County.
To apply for this program, you can visit www.wicomicocounty.org and click on the "Clean Up Wicomico" tab. After downloading and completing the application, you can email it to cleanupwicomico@wicomicocounty.org.
From there, the application is reviewed by Public Works, who will reach out within five business days regarding project approval. If approved, the county will provide clean-up materials, retrieve the trash from the project and cover the cost of dumping.
