Maryland state regulators have fined 104 out of the state’s 574 “animal feeding operations” since July 1. According to the Baltimore Sun, the growers failed to file information required annually outlining what they did to keep their flocks' waste from polluting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Those operations that qualify as animal feeding operations raise 37,500 or more birds at a time and are regulated more closely. The Sun reports that 89 were fined $250 for submitting incomplete reports, and the other 15 received $500 fines for not reporting anything.