ZENITH SITE #30

DEP held a public hearing on Tuesday, October 3, 2024 and received comments from the public through Monday, October 14, 2024. DEP staff provided information, answered questions, and accepted official comments. Comments from the public included questions about whether the “Permission to Operate an Infiltration System” would comply with West Virginia’s groundwater protection regulations and whether the system described in Aviagen’s application would protect local groundwater from contamination by the construction and operation of Aviagen’s turkey operation on this site. Written comments were also submitted in addition to comments provided at the meeting.

UPDATE: On January 16, 2025, WVDEP issued Permission to Operate an Infiltration System for Site 30, allowing Aviagen to infiltrate stormwater through 1 stormwater pond and 3 infiltration basins; and to complete disturbed land stabilization activities at the site.

Aviagen has largely completed land preparation and construction of a concrete pad and holding pond on Site 30. Aviagen Zenith Site #30 received a DEP stormwater pollution control permit in October 2020, which expired in October 2021 before permit-related work was completed. The current permit application seeks to complete construction of the work site by DEP granting “Permission to Operate an Infiltration System”. This new application includes significant changes that also affect Site #31.

See more information about Site #30, including permit activity and ICWA comments.

ZENITH SITE #31

Aviagen is currently in the construction phase of the concrete pad and pond on Site #31. On March 17, 2023 Aviagen received “Permission to Operate an Infiltration System” at Site #31, allowing Aviagen to “filter stormwater and disinfected barn water through a treatment system and stormwater infiltration pond.”

In other words, the water used to clean the industrial turkey operation barns (including areas that would have held manure or “turkey litter”) would be treated and then allowed to “infiltrate” or drain through the soil into the ground water in Zenith. Once the clean-up water is disinfected with chlorine, the “chlorinated barn water” and stormwater run-off would be collected in an unlined pond before it “infiltrates”, passes through sandstone and fractured limestone (karst) and into the groundwater and unknown springs in the Zenith and Turkey Creek valleys.

Although Aviagen claims that their chlorination system will disinfect the wastewater from the washdown of the turkey barns before that water is released into the infiltration pond, the chlorine will only eliminate bacteria. This system will have absolutely no effect on removing any antibiotics, steroids, hormones, nitrates, phosphates, etc. from the wastewater before it is released into the infiltration pond to percolate into the nearby groundwater.

See more information about Site #31 including permit activity and ICWA comments.