Mountaire Farms has withdrawn its Coastal Zone Act application for a 5,300-square foot expansion to its chicken processing plant in Millsboro, according to a letter sent by the company to the Department of Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The poultry processing company first submitted the application back in June. Since then, Millsboro residents have spoken out against the expansion, due to concerns about pollution.
Mountaire withdrew its application, according to the letter, because of the “upset condition” of the plant’s waste water treatment facility. The company noted that its current state would make it impossible to meet the pollution standards first outlined in the application.
“Mountaire fully intends to re-file the application and pursue the expansion of the processing plants once we are satisfied that all system upgrades and the likelihood that acceptable effluents levels in the spray fields, even at anticipated production levels, can be achieved following an expansion,” wrote Executive Vice President Michael W. Tirrell in the letter.