Posted: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 7:32 AM
NEWARK, Del. (AP) -- A new University of Delaware study says that the Environmental Protection Agency has overestimated the amount of chicken waste that's in the nutrient runoff that enters the Chesapeake Bay.
WBOC-TV reports that the study is in agreement with Delmarva poultry farmers, who have long argued that EPA numbers are outdated and overstated (http://bit.ly/yHIk2m ). Estimates conducted by the EPA blame chicken manure for six percent of all nutrient runoff into the Chesapeake. The study finds that the amount of chicken manure is much less than the EPA estimate but the nitrogen and phosphorous levels are also far lower.
The EPA Chesapeake Bay workgroup is set to review the study this month and begin an analysis to determine whether the study's figures are accurate.
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Information from: WBOC-TV, http://www.wboc.com/
Copyright 2012 The AP.