DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara revoked the resource recovery facility permit for Mike Davidson Enterprises, LLC, located west of Camden in Kent County. The license had been suspended earlier. (See earlier story).
The permit allowed the facility to accept, process, and recycle construction and demolition waste. The revocation was handed down after the company failed to address continuing environmental violations and after MDE failed to comply with numerous requirements, including most recently a secretary’s order issued by DNREC in June, and illegally increased material onsite more than three-fold.
This action prohibits the facility from accepting any more solid waste, while allowing the company to sell and distribute mulch onsite if the company takes steps required by DNREC to protect public health and the environment – especially the removal of all solid waste on the facility and adjacent properties.
Revocation of the resource recovery permit by DNREC is effective immediately.
“Delaware is emerging as a leader in recycling and we support and encourage the responsible and appropriate reuse of materials whenever possible,” said O’Mara. “However, MDE has repeatedly demonstrated a blatant disregard for requirements that are in place to protect public health. The company’s actions are harming the environment and unfairly hurting competing businesses who are doing the right thing and following the rules. For these reasons, the department has no other recourse but to revoke the company’s permit and require immediate cleanup of the site.”
The order requires Mike Davidson Enterprises LLC to provide records associated with operation of the facility; requires that the company provide additional financial assurance to cover costs for proper disposal of materials at the facility (currently estimated at more than 100,000 tons), and also assesses a penalty of $10,000 per day for every day after August 9 that any solid waste remains onsite.
The order revoking Mike Davidson Enterprises, LLC’s permit and penalties assessed the company can be found at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.