Upcoming Wicomico County Council meeting

We need you to attend!

The Wicomico County Council will be considering a legislative change to the County Code (Bill No. 2019-07) which would impose a moratorium on issuing building permits for an Agricultural Storage Tank which will store Dissolved Air flotation (DAF).  This will not affect the proposed tank to be built on Porter Mill Rd but will temporarily restrict the permitting of future tanks until the County can study the issue and determine what new regulations should be implemented to oversee the placement, construction and usage of future tanks built in Wicomico County.

The Neighborhood Action Group (NAG) supports this proposed legislation.  It will hopefully change the process by which future tanks can be built in this County.  Although it will not affect the construction of the tank which we are currently opposing, we feel this is a step in the right direction.  We need to continue to raise our voices in the public forum to let our elected officials as well as bureaucratic agencies know that the citizens of this County deserve protection from practices that disrupt our quality of life and potentially affect our safety and health.

The County Council meeting will be this Tuesday, October 1, 6 PM, at the Government Office Building, Room 301.  We have been told that the poultry industry and local farmers will be in attendance to oppose this legislation.  While NAG supports the customary practices of agriculture and recognizes the importance of the poultry industry to the economic health of the Lower Shore, we oppose the current interpretation of the County Code which allows a DAF storage tank to be built anywhere in the County which is zoned agriculture.  The tank(s) will store wastewater generated by a commercial process (poultry processing and rendering by Valley Proteins).

Please plan to attend to show your support for the proposed legislation and let your voice be heard.

Register for the Workshop

Workshop at the Lower Shore American Job Center in Salisbury, Thursday, October 10, 9 AM until 3 PM. Please read the below information on the content which will be covered. This daylong workshop is entitled "What's That Smell?" A representative of our group attended the first workshop on September 20 held at Chesapeake College and October 10. While the application of DAF to farm fields and the storage issue was mentioned, it was not the focus of the workshop.  However, NAG feels it would be beneficial to attend and is another opportunity to make our voices be heard and that agriculture does indeed need to be a "good neighbor" as has been told us many times. If you plan to attend you will need to register. Use the links below to find out more and to register.

A University of Maryland Extension news release<https://extension.umd.edu/news/workshops-aimed-local-officials-covering-developing-agricultural-issues-be-held-wye-mills-and> (2019-08-19) announced that Chesapeake College and the Lower Shore American Job Center will host several one-day workshops for local officials about current challenges facing agriculture in Maryland. From the news release:
The “What’s That Smell?” Understanding Modern Agriculture and What Officials Need to Know Workshops will be held September 17, 2019, at the Higher Education Center at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills and on October 10, 2019, at the Lower Shore American Job Center in Salisbury. Each workshop will be from 9 am to 3 pm. Sessions will cover issues associated with poultry production, crop production, and developments with right-to-farm laws. ...
These workshops are hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, the Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, the Agriculture Law Education Initiative, and the University of Maryland Extension.
There is no cost for attending either workshop. The workshops are sponsored by the Maryland Grain Producers' Utilization Board.

Registration and Information for Salisbury Workshop<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whats-that-smell-what-officials-need-to-know-about-modern-agriculture-tickets-66456395869> (2019-10-10)

If you have any questions, contact Lynette Kenney (lynettekenney33@msn.com)