Carroll officials consider moratorium on spread of food byproduct ‘industrial sludge’

Carroll County commissioners will host a public hearing Thursday morning to allow residents to comment on the possibility of a six-month moratorium on the spread and storage of food processing remains on agricultural land in the county.

The commissioners said they want to better understand the practice’s impact on health, safety and the environment. Residents concerned about the odor and runoff coming from the food processing remains have contacted county officials during the last several months.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an independent conservation organization based in Maryland, has been sounding the alarm about Dissolved Air Flotation, or DAF, that’s stored on many Maryland farms.

“DAF industrial sludge is the leftovers that remain after protein and other organic materials are processed in poultry, seafood, or livestock rendering plants, sometimes by skimming off solids that float to the top of treatment tanks by a technique called Dissolved Air Flotation or ‘DAF.’ Rendering companies … supply some waste to the pet food market. But the residuals — a highly liquid mix of water and remaining materials like blood, feathers, and other unused bits — create the DAF,” the foundation states on its website.

DAF is often used as a soil amendment that may be applied to farmland in Maryland.

In a statement to the Carroll County Times on Wednesday, Alan Girard, Maryland Advocacy Director at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said that improper application and storage of DAF material on farms is a health hazard to local residents.

“Historically lax oversight by state regulators has made Maryland a dumping ground for the material. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has worked closely with residents and leaders in Carroll County on new legislation just passed in Maryland’s General Assembly that requires handlers of DAF to hold a permit, giving the Maryland Department of Agriculture better tools to enforce its safe and responsible use,” Girard said. “Permit applicants will need to show evidence they have obtained all relevant local approvals, meaning towns and counties can adopt requirements that meet their communities’ needs. Greater state oversight, together with appropriate local regulation, should provide a lasting solution to this problem.”

Carroll commissioners voted unanimously April 4 to direct planning staff to examine the impacts of implementing the moratorium on the spread and storage of byproducts from food processing on farmland.

Commissioners are looking at how a six-month moratorium would work in conjunction with a bill that passed the Maryland General Assembly this year. The bill, which takes effect July 1, prohibits the storage and processing of food processing residuals until a use permit has been obtained from the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

The state will be charged with enforcing the provision, as well as requiring those storing and spreading the residuals to have a nutrient management plan in place along with approval and permits from the county.

Before making a decision on a moratorium, commissioners will also be examining Caroline County’s recently adopted legislation regulating byproduct storage.

Commissioners on Thursday will conclude the public hearing with a vote to allow residents to comment on the proposed moratorium for another 10 days, a county briefing paper states. Following the additional comment period, commissioners will vote at a future meeting on whether to institute a moratorium.

The commissioners meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., in Room 311 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., in Westminster. The meeting is livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@CarrollCountyGov.

Anyone can make public comment at the meeting, in person or online. Those wishing to attend online should call 872-240-3212 and enter access code 317-923-893 to join the meeting.