The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) signed a conciliation order with Allen Harim Foods that requires the poultry company to take actions protective of human health and the environment at its Millsboro and Harbeson facilities.
According to the order, Allen Harim is required to perform wastewater reduction actions; to investigate and install stormwater improvements; and to terminate stream discharge for wastewater disposal purposes at both its facilities in Harbeson and Millsboro. Also, according to DNREC, the order resolves past effluent violations at the Harbeson facility and requires cleanout and repurposing of an old anaerobic lagoon as a diversion lagoon for non-compliant wastewater prior to retreatment and disposal.
Beyond those DNREC requirements Allen Harim has agreed to pay a penalty of $150,340 and will be subject to stipulated penalties by the department for non-compliance with any corrective action provisions of the order.
The conciliation order between DNREC and Allen Harim can be found on the DNREC website.
A second action taken by DNREC concerning Allen Harim involves the issuance of an Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Operations Permit for the company’s Harbeson facility. The operations permit allows Allen Harim to perform onsite treatment of poultry processing wastewater and subsequently to transfer treated effluent to Artesian’s Northern Sussex Regional Recharge Facility for disposal via spray irrigation. The operations permit requires that Allen Harim implement the same high level of treatment that would be required for spray disposal at golf courses or state parks. The permit also requires Allen Harim to divert non-compliant wastewater onsite for retreatment if needed.
Allen Harim Foods, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, processed 7.6 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2020, making it the 20th largest poultry producer in the United States. The company is headquartered in Millsboro, and formed in 2011 when South Korean poultry company Harim Group purchased Allen Family Foods.
