HEBRON, Md. - A group of Wicomico County neighbors and two nonprofits have filed a lawsuit asking for the Wicomico County Circuit Court to step in and shut down operations of an open-top Dissolved Air Flotation waste storage tank in Hebron.
The lawsuit centers around a DAF tank on Porter Mill Road. The tank has long been a source of contention between its owner and nearby residents, with Wicomico County Council weighing in to limit future DAF tanks in 2022. In March of 2023, the DAF tank experienced a leak and up to 50,000 gallons of its contents spilled poultry waste into nearby wetlands.
That incident, according to the lawsuit filed on Oct. 22, 2025, was due to multiple legal violations and breaches of duty. Plaintiffs say the DAF tank has been used for commercial and industrial activities in an agricultural-zoned area, something they say has been explicitly forbidden in Wicomico County since before the DAF tank’s owner was granted a permit for its construction and use.
“The fact is that the tank should never have been built here. It is a large-scale commercial and industrial waste storage operation that was inaccurately represented as an agricultural operation to obtain zoning and building permits," says Lynette Kenney, spokesperson for the Neighborhood Action Group.
DAF tanks are used to store poultry waste and other organic material and to remove suspended solids from the wastewater, a process that can release pervasive smells.
“The stench has been described as smelling like rotting meat and death, and when it is in the air it can be so powerfully noxious that individual Plaintiffs have to go indoors and close all their doors and windows, and people driving in the area have reported having to pull over to vomit,” the lawsuit reads.
Plaintiffs argue the DAF tank’s owner has contracted with organic recycling company Denali Water Solutions, LLC in operating the tank and to bring in poultry waste from across Delmarva and beyond. The operation requires a fleet of tanker trucks to transport the organic material, according to the lawsuit, leading to further noise and traffic disruption in the area.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to intercede to bar end the tank’s usage and remove it from Wicomico County, for damages due to the reported nuisances created by the tank, and the payment of any profits earned through the tank’s operation back to Wicomico County.
On Thursday, Denali Water Solutions LLC did provide WBOC with the following statement:
Denali replenishes the earth by repurposing organics, including liquid residuals from food processing manufacturers. These residuals are nutrient-rich organic materials that are not hazardous and have been used as a fertilizer for decades by farmers across the U.S., as part of standard farming practices. This fertilizer helps these vital contributors to our economy reduce cost inputs.
We are in compliance with regulatory requirements of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. All products stored in this facility are registered soil conditioners, approved by the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s State Chemist Office.
At times, agricultural operations can produce odors since the creation of fertilizers from organics involves a process of breaking down materials, and measures are taken to minimize odor.
The Wicomico County Executives Office also pushed out a statement: