Updated: 2/20/25

Valley Proteins is a poultry rendering facility in Linkwood, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that converts slaughter waste (feathers, skin, blood, fat, bones, etc.) into proteins for resale, waste sludge, and treated wastewater. The Facility processes an average of 3.64 million pounds of raw material each day of operation. The wastewater produced at the Valley Proteins’ facility discharges into the Transquaking River, which drains into Fishing Bay and then the Chesapeake Bay.    

There have been longstanding water quality discharge problems associated with Valley Proteins. In 2022, CBF and partners joined a consent decree, along with Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the facility, to settle a legal challenge against the facility for violations of its wastewater discharge permit, which had been administratively extended for more than 15 years. The Consent Decree settling that case addresses past violations of the facility’s prior permit. (See CBF’s Concluded Case Shore Rivers, et al. v. Valley Proteins) 

The Clean Water Act and the Maryland Water Pollution Control law prohibit the discharge of a pollutant into waters of the United States and Maryland without a permit to do so. These permits specify the amounts of pollutants that may be discharged from a facility into waterbodies, along with monitoring, reporting, and other conditions. In January 2023, MDE finalized a renewed discharge permit for Valley Proteins that failed to address significant flaws, including inadequate and delayed strengthening of standards from the prior permit, despite consistent water quality problems in the Transquaking River watershed. The insufficient permit means MDE will not be able to ensure compliance with water quality standards as required by federal and State law.  

Accordingly, CBF, on behalf of itself and four local environmental partner groups (Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth, Friends of the Nanticoke River, ShoreRivers, and Wicomico Environmental Trust), filed a petition for judicial review in Dorchester County Circuit Court asking the court to review the water quality discharge permit issued to Valley Proteins. A hearing on the merits was held on November 2, 2023. On November 22, 2024, the Court issued a Memorandum Opinion remanding the discharge permit back to MDE to include terms that ensure any discharges from the Facility will conform to Maryland and federal law and ensure compliance with water quality standards in the Transquaking River watershed.  

See CBF’s Press Statement: Maryland Must Revise Valley Proteins Wastewater Permit, Court Decides.    

Darling Ingredients, the new owner of Valley Proteins, appealed this decision to the Appellate Court of Maryland. On March 25, 2025, Darling filed a Notice to voluntarily dismiss the appeal.  CBF will continue to monitor the status of the permit remand with EPA.   

CBF is represented in this matter by Ariel Solaski, Paul Smail, and Sheronda Rose.