Nutter & Associates provided a complete suite of environmental consulting services to Sanderson Farms, Inc. through Charles N. Clark Associates during the siting, design, and regulatory permitting of new poultry processing facilities in Colquitt and Cook Counties, Georgia.  In sum, there were four disjunct project sites, including a feedmill with a railroad spur and a hatchery in Cook County and a processing plant, a land treatment system, and a 6.8 mile pipeline between the two in Colquitt County.  Specific tasks undertaken by Nutter & Associates included:

•    Delineation of federal jurisdictional wetlands and streams on each site;

•    Inventory of federal and state threatened and endangered species on each site;

•    Negotiation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop an appropriate plan to first avoid and then minimize adverse impacts to an active colony of gopher tortoise on one of the sites in Cook County;

•    Execution of Phase I environmental assessments on each site;

•    Comprehensive soil and geotechnical investigation on 10,000 potential acres for final selection of the 480 acre land treatment site.  Based on the site investigation, a detailed soils map was developed in support of irrigation sprinkler placement and construction;

•    Hydrologic and nutrient loading rates were delveloped for the land treatment system along with storage requirements, nutrient budgets, vegetation management and monitoring program specifications; and

•    Permitting assistance to obtain all necessary regulatory authorizations.

Sanderson Farms was awarded the 2009 Clean Water Award from the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association for their environmental stewardship at this facility.