WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A nonprofit corporation is challenging the approval of a loan to a proposed poultry operation in Maryland.
Food & Water Watch filed a complaint on Aug. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency and Farm Loan Officer Deanna Dunning alleging violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is challenging the defendants' approval of One More Haul Farm's application for a loan to construct a poultry concentrated animal feeding operation within the Choptank River watershed. The plaintiff alleges this operation "threatens to degrade the groundwater quality in the surrounding area, pollute nearby surface waters and the downstream Chesapeake Bay, harm wildlife and its habitat, reduce air quality, and reduce the quality of life for surrounding neighbors."
The plaintiff seeks vacating and setting aside the loan guarantee, declare that the defendant violated the National Environmental Policy Act, enjoin the implementation of the defendants' loan guarantee, all legal fees and any other relief as the court deems just. It is represented by Kevin Cassidy of Earthrise Law Center in Norwell, Massachusetts.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia case number 1:17-cv-01714-BAH