CUMBERLAND — An Allegany County Circuit Court judge upheld enforcement actions by the state against a local wastewater processing company but tossed out a $50,000 fine for pollution law violations.
Judge Gary Leasure also ruled the Maryland Department of the Environment could deny a permit for further wastewater treatment to Mexico Farms LLC, a company that processes wastewater for Fibred, a soybean processing and manufacturing operation.
“ ... there is substantial evidence in the record to support MDE’s determination to deny renewal of the permit,” Leasure wrote in his order.
However, Fibred was not targeted in the MDE actions against Mexico Farms. Mexico Farms remains in bankruptcy proceedings.
Leasure told the Office of Administrative Hearings to reconsider the fine, so it is possible some sort of fine could be imposed.
Leasure’s orders in the two related cases were entered June 15.
Missing parts of the hearing record from a hearing before an administrative law judge slowed the proceedings.
The circuit court acts as an appeals court to administrative law hearings.
The company was challenging a Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings order issued on May 26 at the request of the MDE fining Mexico Farms LLC $50,000 and ordering the company to halt spray irrigation and to dispose of wastewater while creating an “acceptable interim alternative” for disposal.
The order also required the company to “rehabilitate the spray fields and return them to productive use for cover crops; to employ a qualified professional engineer to design, build and operate an upgraded wastewater treatment plant; to employ a qualified engineer to repair leaking lagoons; to empty and discontinue use of the old storage lagoon and to design and implement interim measures to control nuisance odors from leaving the property,” according to MDE officials.
Mexico Farms maintained that their business could suffer serious harm if forced to comply with the state requirements. Fibred’s business could also be damaged, the company maintained.
“There is simply no emergency,” state officials said in court papers. The MDE filings stated that Mexico Farms could survive since they’d already contracted with another company, Synagro, to haul away its wastewater.
The company also challenged the denial of the wastewater disposal permit. The permit had allowed Mexico Farms to discharge 210,000 gallons a day of wastewater and stormwater, according to MDE records.
Mexico Farms has also filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland Greenbelt Division. The company wants to reorganize under Chapter 11.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.
Local News
Judge reverses $50,000 fine, upholds MDE permit denial for Mexico Farms
- Local News
-
-
The Big One: Preparing for major mid-America earthquake
It’s a bleak scenario. A massive earthquake along the New Madrid fault kills or injures 60,000 people in Tennessee. A quarter of a million people are homeless. The Memphis airport — the country’s biggest air terminal for packages — goes off-line. Major oil and gas pipelines across Tennessee rupture, causing shortages in the Northeast.
-
County plans to regulate piercings and change rules for tattoo parlors
While Allegany County regulates tattoos, it does not currently regulate body piercings, but the county health department is planning to change that situation soon.
Legitimate tattoo and piercing shops are cooperating in the update, county health officials have said. -
Residents adopt American chestnut trees
Cradling her small American chestnut tree as if it were a newborn baby, Nancy Bean was ready Saturday afternoon to return to her Backbone Mountain home where she would grab a shovel and plant a part of the country’s heritage.
-
Remember the rumble? Some fled local buildings after shock waves in August 2011
Just when you thought that earthquakes would never happen here — that they are for California and other far-flung places — the events of August 2011 turned that thinking upside-down.
-
Upset at Pimlico
-
Frostburg State University
-
Allegany College of Maryland
-
I-68 downtown ramp to reopen Monday
The exit 43C ramp from eastbound Interstate 68 to downtown Cumberland will remain closed through Monday morning to allow crews to repair the concrete driving surface.
-
Mineral deputy, K-9 partner named top team in W.Va.
Mineral County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Smith and K-9 Kira were awarded West Virginia K-9 Team of the Year by the West Virginia Police Canine Association earlier this month.
-
City marbles tournament set Monday, Tuesday at Constitution Park rings
The Cumberland Parks and Recreation Department will hold the annual City Marbles Tournament at the Constitution Park marble rings Monday and Tuesday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials Arrest Man in Idaho in Terrorism Case
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Sheriff: Expected 'More Loss of Life' in Tornado
Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children
Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks
