Mountaire water experts and local leaders said decades of nitrate use in Sussex County have resulted in high local groundwater levels.

Addressing a crowd of residents upset about nitrates recently released by the Millsboro poultry plant, Sen. Gerald Hocker said, “I'm here to do whatever I feel it takes to put us in the safest way possible.”

Hocker, R-Ocean View, said he used to post signs at his grocery stores warning pregnant women to not drink tap water because of high levels of nitrates. A lifelong Sussex County resident, he said he owns a Millsboro farm that also has high levels of nitrates in groundwater although the property sits several miles from the Mountaire poultry plant.

Rep. Richard Collins, R-Millsboro, said attorneys and activists are creating hysteria by pointing at Mountaire as the sole source of elevated nitrates in groundwater.

“I heard one person from Dagsboro who got a postcard from an attorney,” he said. Collins said his farmland is 15 miles away from the poultry plant and is surrounded by farmland and has tested high for nitrates.

“Sussex County has a problem with nitrates,” he said. “If you eat hot dogs or processed meat you will be ingesting hundreds of parts per million,” he said, noting that’s much higher than the allowable 10 parts per million.

But activist Maria Payan was offended by his comparison of nitrate food preservatives to nitrates produced by waste.

“Yes, nitrates in Sussex County have been typically high,” she said. “To suggest that eating hot dogs caused these health effects is sickening. Do you think these people are idiots?”

Payan, a consultant with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, said she has spoken with many residents who believe elevated nitrate levels have caused miscarriages, high blood pressure and other ailments.

Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse said Mountaire, the second-largest manufacturer in Delaware and the state's fourth-largest company, should take action to fix its wastewater treatment system.

“This company is very important to the health and well-being of agriculture in the state of Delaware, but we need them to restore your faith and confidence in the company and the path forward that they're going to take,” he said.

Shawn Garvin, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said Mountaire notified his department after discovering in August that high levels of nitrates and fecal coliform had been applied to adjoining farmland. “They were in our office the next day,” he said.

Garvin said DNREC has made sure residents with water problems receive potable water while state officials investigate what happened. About 80 residents now receive bottled water from Mountaire, said Sean McKeon, Mountaire spokesman, in an earlier interview. He also said several employees were fired in connection with the improper wastewater release.

Garvin said addressing nitrate levels is a long-term issue that DNREC will continue to monitor.

Mike Tirrell, vice president of human resources and business service for Mountaire Farms Inc., said the company values neighbor concerns and takes them seriously. More than 100 residents attended a meeting in early January hosted by a Lewes law firm to hear their concerns and encourage them to sign on to a potential lawsuit against Mountaire. About 100 residents have signed with the Lewes law firm and another firm from Wilmington, attorneys said.

“We value the trust of our Millsboro neighbors that we've enjoyed for the last two decades,” Tirrell said.

But, he said, the company does not believe Mountaire has increased nitrate levels in local wells, even factoring in the August release. “The science will back that up, and I ask you to listen,” he said. “We'll give you a historical perspective of nitrates in the area and high levels that have been in the area for decades. This is not a new problem.”

Mountaire water expert Mark Eisner, president of Maryland-based Advanced Land and Water, Inc., said water runs from north to south. Elevated nitrates in groundwater east and west of the poultry plant, he said, would not be affected by nitrates originating from Mountaire.

Eisner said the source of elevated nitrates in Sussex County does not sit on Mountaire's shoulders alone; Delaware Geological Society identified the Millsboro area as a nitrate hot spot 40 years ago.

“You'd probably have to go back to pre-colonial forests to truly find a time when nitrates in groundwater in Sussex County were not at some measure elevated,” Eisner said.

Mountaire attorney Michael Teichman told about 100 attendees that pending litigation may limit the company's response.

Still, that didn't stop more than a dozen people from speaking their minds.

Milton resident Anthony Scarpa said he was disappointed Millsboro-area elected officials – Hocker and Collins – and other state officials appeared to be sitting alongside Mountaire officials.

“Don't you feel public health is more important than protecting these companies?” he asked.

Even before the question-and-answer session, Millsboro resident Jeff Davis started questioning Mountaire experts. “My question is for the genius up there,” said the resident of 20 years. At the podium, Davis said his daughter has had five miscarriages, and he believes high nitrates in the water are to blame.

“I think someone needs to get off their a** and get this work done,” he said.

Millsboro resident Barry Rogers was equally upset. He said he was told his water was good, and then a week later was told it's not safe to drink.

“I have papers to back that up. You want to be a good neighbor, and you want to give us an hour-and-a-half of your time tonight. How long have you known this?” he asked.

“We pay you to be in that damn office up there, and you do nothing for us. And yes, we're upset,” he shouted at Collins and Hocker.

Resident Joanne Haynes said she is tired of foul smells coming from the poultry plant. She said she doesn't understand why Mountaire is allowed to continue to operate after receiving numerous violations from DNREC for elevated levels of nitrates and other contaminants.

“I have to close my windows because of the stench. We don't deserve it,” she said. “I pray to God you will have to answer for what you've done.”

A few people spoke in favor of the poultry plant.

Steven Smith, a resident since 1986 who also works with the Christian Storehouse, said he remembers warnings against eating clams from the Inland Bays and recalled one official comparing Sussex County's water to water found in the bottom of a toilet. He said Mountaire has been a good neighbor, donating chicken to the Christian Storehouse, which operates a food bank for area residents.

“We need good, viable businesses which employ people, pay taxes,” he said. As far as being a good neighbor, he said, “Mountaire has been front and center, and they continue to be front and center.”

Mountaire's Tirrell said he welcomes concerns from residents, and he assured the audience more meetings will be held.

“We hear what you're saying, and we know there are situations out there that are not good,” he said. “You have Mountaire's complete commitment to fix this issue. We're not going to put a Band-Aid on it … we want to be a good neighbor.”

To reach Mountaire, call 302-934-3461.

Sources of nitrates

Delaware Geological Survey has reported on nitrates in Sussex County water for decades. No research has specifically determined the amount of nitrates found in Sussex County water, but nitrates are among the substances listed in periodical Sussex County water studies.

In 1960, a DGS report on Water Resources of Sussex County, written by William C. Rasmussen, Richard A. Wilkens and Robert M. Beall, tested 100 wells with nitrate ranges from 120 parts per million to .03 ppm. A 1979 Evaluation of Nitrate in the Ground Water in the Delaware Coastal Plain tested 800 wells and found 20 percent exceeded 45 ppm.

In some areas, the report noted that more than half the wells tested for nitrates exceeded 45 ppm.

The report concluded that nitrate occurrences were closely related to land use, soil permeability, water-table depths and aquifer chemistry. The greatest incidence of high nitrate concentrations was associated with confined feeding operations. Other nitrate sources are septic tank effluent, natural and chemical fertilizers, foliage in forests, and precipitation.

Historically, agriculture and wastewater are the biggest sources of high nitrates for Sussex County, said A. Scott Andres, hydrogeologist with the DGS. He said nitrates are high in areas near agriculture or wastewater, but drop to levels as low as 0.1 ppm in forest and grassland areas.