Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms, criticized Maryland’s regulatory climate, saying the state’s government makes operating there much more difficult than governments of neighboring states where the poultry company has operations. Perdue made those critical comments at a recent Maryland Chamber of Commerce CEO Spotlight.
"The problem is, we have no seat at the table in Maryland," said Perdue. "Even if we have an onerous thing that happens in Virginia or Delaware, we can sit at the table and at least express our opinion.
"In Maryland, there is no seat. It's sort of dictated that this is the way it's going to be, and you really don't have any discourse."
Perdue said Maryland tends to regulate to solve problems, even in cases when the regulations aren't effective, Perdue said, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report.
The Maryland Department of the Environment did not directly address Perdue's comments, a spokesperson for the agency did provide a general statement about its operations: "The Maryland Department of the Environment works closely with a variety of stakeholders — including the agricultural community — in the department’s work to protect the environment and public health," the statement said. "The department is always willing to listen to, and to the extent possible address, the concerns of Maryland’s agricultural community."
