Page 12 - March 2024 Issue.indd

What I am calling out is the blatant commercialization of River and Peaviner Roads where DAF pits are located. He
DAF at the expense of our community whereby a landowner does not live in Caroline County and over the last fi ve years

is collecting food processing waste for a fee and storing and has accumulated farmland. This land is used to apply DAF
processing it without regard to its impact on neighbors. Th ere material that may contain contaminates that could impact our

is also road damage from truck traffic, a decline in quality of groundwater. Who is testing the material before it is applied

life for those in close proximity, and a general disregard for to the land? No one seems to know. The risk is broadened
regulations and laws. by his apparent failure to secure permits, install storm water
management mitigation where required, comply with cease

The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) needs to and desist orders and show regard for our community.
step up and plug the regulatory hole created by DAF storage

and processing. Food Processing plants have regulations to There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Th e Green
oversee, store and dispose of processed wastewater. Farmers Garden County is full of farmers who respect the land and
have regulations and requirements to monitor and manage their neighbors and do things the right way. Unfortunately, all
soil application materials through their Nutrient Management the good they do as stewards of their land is being tarnished
Plans. Where the material is stored and processed in between by an individual who has no regard for either.
these processes needs to be regulated and monitored, and
the county should not bear this burden. It has been argued I am fed up with business people, politicians and others in
by some that the end user of what is coming from the pits in positions of power who feel that they are above the law and
question doesn’t really know “exactly” what they are applying who focus on self rather than others.
to the soil because different types of waste are being put
Mr. Rowe is Vice President/Lending for Bay Capital Mortgage

into the pits with different kinds of chemical interactions Corp. with offices in Easton and Annapolis. He has lived
occurring. Who monitors and assesses the material before it
in Caroline for his entire life and supports the county by
is applied to the soil?
volunteering in a variety of ways. He currently lives near
The situation our commissioners are wrestling with has Greensboro with his wife Jeanne and daughter Kelsey.
been brought on by one individual who owns property on

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