WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. - Attorneys representing Perdue Farms and its Agribusiness are again pushing for the dismissal of a lawsuit over PFAS ( per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) or 'forever chemicals' contamination at and around Perdue's Agribusiness facility on Zion Church Road near Salisbury.
Additionally, Perdue tells the Maryland Department of the Environment it has identified eight sources of potential PFAS contamination on its property. MDE has now tasked Perdue with conducting further testing. MDE is asking the company to target soil and groundwater testing in those eight areas.
An MDE official says Perdue's testing of nearby private wells is "appropriate" and says Perdue has been cooperating with that process. MDE also says its overseeing Perdue's well testing and treatment system installations at private properties.
In Perdue's latest court filing, the company's attorneys say in part "plaintiffs raced to the courthouse without sufficient facts."
Attorney Chase Brockstedt, who says he represents more than 400 neighbors as part of the class action lawsuit says that's not true.
"Perdue, before we got involved in this case, Perdue had known about this problem for more than a year. They had not done anything about it. They had not warned the public. They had not identified where on their property the fast was coming from, and they had not taken any steps to abate it," he said.
Perdue's attorneys argue the company is actively working to remedy the situation. Brockstedt says he has questions about that claim's validity.
"We don't know what it is that that Perdue is doing to actively remedy this situation. We know before we got involved for more than a year, they didn't even one the public not to drink the water in their wells," he said.
Perdue declined our request for an on camera interview, but did provide us with a statement detailing the actions the company is taking.
Perdue has provided nearby property owners with bottled water, free well testing and water treatment system installations.
A spokesperson tells WBOC 95 percent of requested well tests at nearby properties have been completed. We're told 79 percent of impacted properties now meet EPA safe drinking water standards. The spokesperson also says Perdue has installed 327 poet (point of entry treatment) water filtration systems.