New regulations to make chicken farming in Maryland less harmful to the environment won't take effect until January but as Jessica Forres reports….some experts already are claiming the rules won't do much to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay but WILL hurt farmers….

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Mandatory planting of vegetative buffer zones and better managing of chicken manure are part of the new regulations from the state Department of the Environment. Agency representative Robert Ballinger says the new rules are designed to show how Maryland can reduce the amount of nutrients that flow into and pollute the Bay…

DELAWARE AND VIRGINIA DO HAVE SIMILAR REGULATIONS. WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT OUR REGULATIONS ARE STRONGER AND MORE PROGRESSIVE.

But some experts say the tougher regulations will put Maryland's poultry farmers at a competitive disadvantage with their neighbors. Ellen Silbergeld is with Johns Hopkins University….

THIS IS THE KIND OF THING WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN EITHER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT OR FOR THE ECONOMICS OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND. WE NEED TO DO SOME UPSTREAM THINKING THAT IS FOR EXAMPLE GETTING ANTIBIOTICS OUT OF POULTRY PRODUCTION ALONG WITH THAT IS THE ISSUE OF USE OF ARSENIC IN POULTRY FEED.

The arsenic, she says, end up in the manure and are carried into the Bay when it rains as well as groundwater. Silbergeld says the state should first consider whether the new requirements will make a significant difference...

DON'T PLACE THE BURDEN ON THE FARMER. THE WAY IN WHICH POULTRY IS PRODUCED IN MARYLAND AND THE UNITED STATES IS REALLY DICTATED BY THE MAJOR PRODUCERS. AND THE FARMERS WORK AS CONTRACTORS TO COMPANIES LIKE TYSON, PERDUE, ETC SO IF WE REALLY WANT TO A CHANGE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THIS INDUSTRY, WE HAVE TO ENGAGE THE SECTOR THAT'S MAKING MOST OF THE MONEY.

The Department of the Environment will accept public comments for one more week.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News