Allen Family Foods received the award due to its commitment to the protection and enhancement of the quality of water, soil and other natural resources. The facility uses state-of-the-art wastewater treatment processes to achieve over 97 percent total nitrogen and phosphorus removal and over 99 percent removal of conventional pollutants prior to final wastewater disposal by spray irrigation during the growing season and by stream discharge during the winter season. The facility takes every opportunity to protect and preserve the lands and farms of the corporation and joins with other environmental organizations and programs to further these objectives in larger efforts within their watershed. The facility management says its public responsibility extends beyond running a safe and environmentally sound plant to helping maintain healthy communities.
The Clean Water Award Review Committee chose Allen Family Foods as the winner after an extensive review and site visits to applicants. The committee members are industry or environmental professionals and represent the various aspects of the poultry industry and regulatory community. Members of the committee include: Katie Kirkpatrick, Gold Kist; James L. Walsh Jr., Economic Development Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology; Terrence O'Keefe, Watt Publishing; and Charles Horn, America's Clean Water Foundation.
The Clean Water Award consists of two separate divisions recognizing specific aspects of the industry's environmental efforts. Allen Family Foods received the award for excellence as a full treatment facility. Ecology Management (a subsidiary of OK Foods), Fort Smith, Ark., and Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Millsboro, Del., received honorable mention in this category.
ConAgra Foods, Aibonito, Puerto Rico, received the award for the pretreatment category.
Source: U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
