BALTIMORE, MD. — Poultry rendering company Valley Proteins Inc., a subsidiary of Darling Ingredients Inc., received a permit authorizing increased discharge of wastewater.

The Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) issued the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to Valley Proteins’ Linkwood, Md., location on Dec. 27, 2022, to be effective beginning on Feb. 1, 2023, through Jan. 31, 2028. The permit allows the discharge of an average of 150,000 gallons per day of treated process wastewater and provides for a possible expansion to 575,000 gallons per day.

The Linkwood facility renders about 20 million lbs of raw material per week. According to MDE’s final fact sheet, Valley Proteins collects grease in a storage tank and meat meal in a silo, and the treatment of wastewater generated is continuous.

A few months before MDE approved Valley Proteins’ permit, the rendering company faced a civil penalty for violating Maryland’s environmental laws and regulations. The company allegedly illegally discharged pollutants at its Linkwood facility into the Transquaking River for over a year. Valley Proteins paid $540,000 as a settlement.