WILMINGTON, DEL. - The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) provided a temporary emergency variance for air quality to allow for the construction and operation of a rental boiler at Perdue Foods LLC’s Milford, Del., poultry processing facility.

“Our primary boiler at our Milford facility was in need of repair in order to continue to operate the plant,” the company said in a statement. “Under Delaware regulations in kind replacements of boilers above 10 MM BTUs per hour, requires public notice and a permitting process, which would have impacted our ability to operate. We sought the variance through DNREC to expedite the approval process.”

Perdue added that it did not go offline and operated at a reduced efficiency. 

The temporary permit was issued and was available for public notice starting on Sept. 3. According to the DNREC, plant managers at the Perdue facility discovered the failure of the permitted boilers on Aug. 27.

The Milford plant processes about 240,000 chickens per day.

The state agency expects to issue a temporary air permit for the rental boiler during the first full week of September, allowing the boiler to operate for up to 90 days. 

“The variance incorporates requirements for Perdue Foods LLC to develop a boiler maintenance plan for the Milford poultry processing plant, including a plan for long-term facility maintenance, and requires the facility to solidify a commitment to continuous compliance with Delaware’s environmental regulations,” DNREC added.