Perdue, farm can’t recoup pollution suit fees

A federal judge has ruled that Purdue Farms and an Eastern Shore contract grower will not be able to recoup $3 million in legal fees after successfully defending themselves against a poultry pollution suit. U.S. District Court Judge William M. Nickerson rejected the request for attorneys’ fees in a 17-page opinion released Tuesday. Last year, Nickerson tossed out the Waterkeeper Alliance’s Clean Water Act case, criticizing the environmental group for not conducting adequate sampling to identify the source of pollution found near Alan Hudson’s farm in Berlin, Md. He wrote that the only proven source of discharge was from cow manure from the Hudson’s beef cattle operation. Read More