Perdue AgriBusiness, which has come under fire for allegedly exposing the community near its Salisbury plant to dangerous “forever chemicals,” is hoping to drastically increase the amount of wastewater it releases into an Eastern Shore stream.
Maryland environmental regulators have proposed a new permit that would allow the Salisbury-based giant to increase its wastewater output nearly fivefold — a step that drew concern Wednesday evening from Eastern Shore residents who fear the expansion could further expose them to toxic chemicals.
More than 550 people in the Salisbury area joined an ongoing class-action lawsuit in 2024 against Perdue over contamination from PFAS — commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment — in their groundwater wells.
Perdue has blamed the contamination on firefighter foam used at its Zion Road soybean refinery, and the company sued its makers, 3M and Johnson Controls, in May. The Maryland Department of the Environment is investigating.
“It’s frightening to think what this means for a place I’ve called home for 35 years,” said Margarita Rosado, whose well tested for the forever chemical PFOS at 437 parts per trillion — 100 times higher than that of the federal standard for public drinking water. The Trump administration has tried to roll back research into forever chemicals, which remain an emerging contaminant with no federal restrictions on wastewater discharges.
Perdue spokesperson Kate Shaw said the permit is part of a long-running wastewater treatment plant expansion to “support the future operational needs” of its Salisbury soybean refinery. She added that the multibillion-dollar company voluntarily installed PFAS treatment technology at the facility. Perdue no longer sprays its wastewater over the neighboring wooded area on-site and is ending its practice of stockpiling its outflow in lagoons — both alleged causes of forever chemical contamination in local groundwater.
MDE spokesperson Jay Apperson called the permit “more restrictive” than the current version and stressed it would require swift action if PFAS chemicals are detected in the company’s wastewater.
“We remain committed to protecting this community’s drinking water and natural waterways under state and federal law. This draft water discharge permit does not change our approach,” Apperson said in a statement.
MDE will accept public comment on its draft permit until Nov. 9. The agency will then publish a final determination before issuing the permit.
Under the proposed permit, Perdue would be allowed to increase discharges from its wastewater treatment facility and into the Peggy Neck Branch, a small tributary of the Wicomico River, from an average of 205,000 gallons per day to a maximum of 1 million gallons. The creek travels through multiple communities, and some residents who live along it worry the increased flow would lead to flooding on neighboring properties.
Although MDE’s proposed permit would allow for a substantial increase in wastewater releases, it would impose similar limits on the volumes of many contaminants. The facility’s current permit has no restriction on PFAS, but the new version would limit certain types of forever chemicals to a nondetectable level, or fewer than four parts per trillion, per liter. The total amount of the compounds would be limited to roughly an ounce per year.
Jonathan Rice, who oversees industrial permits for MDE and presented the agency’s draft Wednesday, said most of the lab testing he’s viewed on the Perdue site has not found forever chemicals.
Still, forever chemicals can be dangerous even at extremely small concentrations, and the permit would allow for a trial period. Any releases of the chemicals PFAS or PFOA over the state’s limit in the first two years of the permit would require the company to take “corrective action” and report it to the agency within two weeks, though it would not immediately result in a violation.
Roger Truitt, an environmental consultant working with the law firm Brockstedt Mandalas Federico, which leads the class-action lawsuit against Perdue, argued that MDE’s approach would regulate flows out of the pipe while “turning a blind eye” to the seepage of forever chemicals into groundwater.
MDE has cited Perdue twice in the last five years for excessive releases of other contaminants in the facility’s wastewater.
For many who live near the facility outside Salisbury, the discovery of forever chemicals in their groundwater has stoked fear.
James Parrigin, who lives about a mile and half from the Perdue facility, told environmental officials Wednesday he worries about discovering toxic chemicals in his children’s blood tests and sees Perdue’s effort to expand in the face of litigation as entitled.
“I’m worried that folks will turn a blind eye to this in the interest of profit and expansion and allow even more of a blight to be poured into what is already an environmental disaster,” he said.
Susan Wood, who lives directly across from the plant, said in a phone call that the incidents made her more worried about how her drinking water is affecting her health. The cancer survivor, who recently underwent chemotherapy, says she would want the state to increase monitoring and retest wells before changes are made.
“If the state’s going to permit them a massive increase, they’re going to have to bear the responsibility for what happens next,” she said.
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