Audrey Clement
5709 10th Road North #A
Arlington, VA 22205
703-532-5339 (home)
571-830-8889 (cell)
 
As a  recreational kayaker, I have boated in a number of Virginia waterways, including: the Potomac, Shenandoah, Rappahannock, James, Occoquan and Chickahominy Rivers,  and the Great Dismal Swamp. A number of these rivers form part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Recently I viewed the PBS documentary, “Poisoned Waters” , and was appalled to learn that the dead zone that now covers forty percent of the bay is attributable to poultry waste that comes from farms operated indirectly by Frank Purdue. Poultry interests lobbied the state of Maryland several years ago to defeat legislation that would have regulated the application of poultry waste on agricultural land, and Frank Purdue’s son, Bob Purdue, refuses to require that the factory farms with which he signs poultry production contracts manage their waste responsibly.
 
Thus the most significant source of pollution of the Chesapeake Bay is attributable to the intransigence of one major poultry producer. I find it appalling that one powerful individual has despoiled the largest estuary in the United States with impunity. This situation has to change, and the proposed amendment to the Virginia Pollution Abatement Permit Regulation to manage poultry waste transported from off-site production facilities is a step in the direction. I endorse this amendment and encourage the state of Virginia to impose it on poultry operators in this state.
 
Audrey Clement, Ph.D.
Co-chair, Green Party of Virginia