GEORGETOWN, Del.- A motion to intervene in a proposed consent decree between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Mountaire Farms was heard in court Tuesday morning.

Lawyer Chase Brockstedt, whose firm filed a class action lawsuit against Mountaire earlier this year, and lawyer Chris Nidel, who filed a separate complaint against the poultry company both called the consent decree inadequate.

On Tuesday, both lawyers asked the judge to permit their involvement in any settlement between DNREC and Mountaire.

"They don't have a great history when it comes to enforcing regulations against this plant, Brockstedt told the judge.

But Devera Scott, representing DNREC, argued against the motion to intervene, saying it allows the poultry company and the state to move forward.

"It doesn't wrap up the violations in a package and resolve them," she said. "It's a starting point."

In June, Mountaire Farms asked the court to strike the motion to intervene. The company said it was ready to improve its wastewater treatment plant and engage in other consent decree conditions as soon as a judge signed off on the agreement. In a statement, Mountaire categorized the motion to intervene as "attempts by plaintiffs’ lawyers to disrupt the important work that needs to commence[.]"

In court on Tuesday, Scott said the motion to intervene has prevented progress at the Millsboro area facility.

"A stay will only unduly delay the facility upgrade." she said.

Earlier this year, Brockstedt's firm claimed the consent decree does not require Mountaire Farms meet the nitrate drinking water standard set by the EPA, does not provide an absolute requirement for a public water system and that the proposed public water system does not address groundwater contamination for many, including 500 of the firm's clients.

"They have a problem and the problem is they don't want us to be heard," he said Tuesday.

But Scott said the public will have a chance to get involved during the permit process.

"If third parties were permitted to have a seat at the table [...] DNREC could not function efficiently," Scott told the court.



An attorney for Mountaire Farms spoke briefly, arguing the plaintiffs' complaints should be decided in federal court. Mountaire has long denied its Fall 2017 wastewater upset contaminated any private wells.

After nearly two hours of arguments, Judge Richard Stokes commended both sides and is weighing a decision. There is no word yet on when Stokes' opinion could be handed down, nor when the separate lawsuits against Mountaire will be heard in court.