cfrw.us Blog

From our friends at the North Carolina Conservation Network

Near the end of every state legislative session, environmental advocates must block attempts to sneak anti-environment bills through the legislature at the last minute. This year will be no different.

This week a new anti-environment bill appeared in the state Senate: H822. This legislation would weaken the 13-year-old set back requirements for hog houses, allowing them to be re-built too close to neighboring homes and businesses.

H822 appears headed on a fast track to the Senate floor with little to no debate. Ammonia emissions and odors from hog houses have been shown to represent a public health risk to community members – especially to children who live or play nearby.

Under current law, hog producers must get the approval of their neighbors to rebuild or modify farm structures if they cannot meet the legal set back requirements. H822 would remove that requirement and allow construction or repair without notifying neighbors. H822 is a threat to the public health of people living near hog farms – we need your help to stop it before it goes any further.

Tell your legislators and the Governor to oppose H822!

The Waterkeeper Alliance® threw a big outdoor birthday party on the lawn in front of the Legislature Building in Raleigh last week for the thousands of children in eastern NC who can’t have outdoor birthday parties because of the pervasive and nauseating stench of “it” (hog waste) that emanates from the region’s slaughterhouses and “lagoons” attached to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The birthday party was the centerpiece of the Alliance’s annual 50 hour vigil on the lawn to urge the governor and the legislature to get off their collective tookus and do something about “it.” Following the party, a delegation led by Lower Neuse Riverkeeper Larry Baldwin walked over to the Governor’s Mansion to hand deliver a gallon jug of the sweet contents of one of those lagoons to Governor Mike Easley, who once promised to eliminate such lagoons in 5 years. That was in 1999. After being told that the Governor wasn’t home, the delegation walked back to the Governor’s office in the capitol and delivered the jug there with a polite note. The current whereabouts of the jug of “it” are unknown, but there are millions more gallons where it came from. Just a guess, but there will probably need to be another vigil on the lawn next year. Here’s hoping our next Governor does more than make promises. Text of open letter delivered with “it” to the Governor:

Text of open letter delivered with “it” to the Governor:

Dear Governor Easley:

Today at noon a broad-based coalition of grassroots community and environmental representatives will arrive at the front gate of the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh to deliver one gallon of hog waste to you.

Where you reside and work in Raleigh, you and your family do not have to live with the terrible odor and other consequences of hog waste, including its serious health impacts. We suffer from it daily. It makes our lives unbearable.

When asking for our votes, you made a written promise to us that you would rid this state of hog lagoons in five years or less. Unfortunately, your promise made remains a debt unpaid. Today all of the lagoons that existed when you took office are still there, disrupting our lives and injuring our health as before. Our streams and rivers continue to be poisoned by hog pollution. In fact, under your term as Governor the situation has worsened as many more lagoons have been added.

In recent media reports you claim to have solved this problem through legislation passed last year. It is foolish and inappropriate to take that position. We live with the problem and we know the truth. Say what you will; history will judge you, not on your words, but on your actions, or the lack of them.

It is not our goal in bringing this hog waste to you to cause you any physical harm. Our purpose is to share just one gallon of this unhealthy fecal marinade with you. We were specifically denied permission to bring hog waste to Halifax Mall as it was deemed “hazardous”. This is the same substance that is sprayed over our homes and communities, but when we bring it to your backyard it becomes toxic waste. It is our hope that you will open it and take a deep breath as we do daily. Then you will know what kind of existence you have condemned us to suffer. When you are finished, please dispose of the waste by applying it to your garden. You will find its lingering effects to be present for many days.

It is our request that you have the courage to meet with us at the Mansion. You will find us cordial and willing to listen to what you have to say. If you choose not to meet with us we will walk to your office and deliver our package there.

Governor, we are not law breakers. We will not bring hog waste onto Halifax Mall. However, we will not stop reminding you of your responsibility to honor your promises. We will be back every year until our lives and communities get the respect and protections that they deserve. We respect the laws, especially those granted under the Constitution of the United States, but we have been denied the most basic of protections: the rights to breathe clean air, drink clean water and fully enjoy our property. In large measure, you are responsible for that.

Sincerely,

Cape Fear River Watch

Concerned Citizens for Tillery

NC Environmental Justice Network

Neuse River Foundation

New River Foundation

Pamlico-Tar River Foundation

Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help

Waterkeeper Alliance

Hog Waste has long been major concern of Cape Fear River Watch. Runoff from waste “lagoons” and sprayfields attached to Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) is a major contributor to river pollution. Cape Fear River Watch is taking its opposition to these wholesale polluters to the air. We will soon be flying regular observation flights over the Cape Fear River Basin looking for and documenting discharge violations. Volunteers are needed to fly as observers, to ground check reported violations, and to check local, county and state records for permits or previous reported violations.

Larry Baldwin, RiverKeeper for the Lower Neuse River will be coming to River Watch’s Environmental Education Center on Thursday, April 10th for two training/orientation/organization sessions at 3:00pm and 7:00pm to get this program off the ground. Anyone interested in any aspect of this undertaking is encouraged to come to one of these sessions. For more information, or to reserve a spot at one of these orientation sessions, call or e-mail RiverKeeper Doug Springer (910-762-5606, riverkeeper@cfrw.us)

Proposed Energy Bill

The proposed energy bill now in the General Assembly may have some fatal flaws:

The original bill, known as the renewable energy bill, appears to have the following flaws:

it may raise our power bills and threaten our state economy
it may squander our chances to slow global warming
it will all allow 2,000 hog waste lagoons to continue harming our communities and rivers
it may undermine our growing industry for renewable efficient energy
it will shift the risk for multi-billion-dollar coal and nuclear power plants on to rate payers

Duke Energy and Progress Energy plan to build $20 billion worth of power plants in the Carolinas. Bill S-3 would obligate customers to begin paying for them, including profits and interest, long before they produce electricity even if the projects fail like many did in the 1980s. This bill would create a cost-plus gravy train for coal and nuclear power plant contractors, not clean energy.

Power companies and the hog industry are used to getting their way in the Legislature because of their well-funded lobby squads and hefty campaign contributions. This time, the stakes are far too high to allow more business as usual.

How can you help? Urge your state legislators either by a short telephone call or e-mail to stop Bill S-3 unless:

provisions promoting new coal and nuclear plants are removed
full environmental protections at hog and poultry waste-to-energy plants are added
provisions allowing utilities to grossly overcharged for energy efficiency are removed

You may contact Governor Mike Easley and 919-733-4240 or 800-662-7952 or governor.office@ncmail.net. You may also identify your state House member at this website HTTP://www.ncga.state.NC.US/ and click on Who Represents Me?

News and Observer Published: Jun 21, 2007 12:30 AM Modified: Jun 21, 2007 02:44 AM “This is something we have to put up with every day”, said Elsie Herring of Wallace about the smell of hog waste from a model hog farm. Staff Photo by Takaaki Iwabu Activists protest to end pig-waste pits Group uses model of feces lagoon Kristin Collins, Staff Writer Their piles of fake poop were banned and their baby pool full of hog waste didn’t smell as bad as they had hoped, but environmentalists still sent a loud message to legislators at a rally Wednesday. “Hey, hey, ho, ho, hog cesspools have got to go”! they chanted from their spot just behind the legislative building, demanding an end to the giant open pits that catch the waste of 9.5 million hogs in North Carolina. The legislature is considering a bill that would outlaw new hog lagoons and provide money to help farmers convert to more environmentally friendly waste disposal systems. The bill passed the Senate and is awaiting discussion in the House. North Carolina is the second-largest pork producer in the nation, with about 2,300 hog farms. Waste from the farms is typically collected in lagoons, then sprayed on nearby fields, and it is often cited by environmentalist groups as fouling water and air. Representatives from two dozen environmental groups, who held the rally as part of a 51-hour camp out on the Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh, said the measure is overdue. “I’ve been fighting for this for 18 years”, said Don Webb, a former hog farmer turned environmentalist. “After 18 years, they’re still stinking up our homes. They’re still polluting the land, air and water and getting away with it”. To prove their point, rally participants created a small replica of a hog farm on the mall: two miniature barns and a lagoon crafted from a wading pool and a tarp. They turned off the pool’s makeshift sprayer, similar to those used at many hog farms, to prevent any waste from running into the grass, said Rick Dove, a spokesman for the Neuse River Foundation. The group also set up a display of fake pigs with piles of foam waste behind them, which police asked them to remove. “Artificial poop too offensive. Can you imagine that”? said Dove. “Folks all over North Carolina have feces and urine sprayed on their houses, their cars, their clothes”. Their biggest disappointment, however, came when the legislative committee that was scheduled to vote on the bill Wednesday afternoon yanked it from the calendar. Rep. Dewey Hill, a Whiteville Democrat who is leader of the House agriculture committee, said it was the third time that the Governor’s Office staff has asked him to delay discussing the bill. “The next time it’s on there, we’re going to hear it”, Hill said, promising to bring it back up in two weeks. George Givens, a legislative analyst working on the bill, said the governor’s staff is trying to work out a companion bill that some say would reduce the environmental effects of existing lagoons. That bill has the support of the pork industry. It would allow pork producers such as Smithfield Foods to profit from collecting and selling the methane gas emitted from hog lagoons. The methane would be used to make electricity and the bill would subsidize its price — an expense that would be passed on to electric customers. Those who gathered on the legislative lawn opposed the methane bill, saying it would encourage Smithfield, who controls the majority of the state’s hog farms, to keep existing lagoons. “All they’ve got to do is throw a tarp over the lagoon and capture the methane gas, and they’re home free”, Dove said. Several people who live near hog farms in Duplin County, a center of hog production in the state, took part in the rally and camp-out. Violet Branch, of Warsaw, said a farmer sprays waste just a few yards from her home. “It’s like rain”, she said. Branch, who gets by on disability insurance, said she was forced to pay to hook into the county water system after tests showed her well was contaminated. She said she can’t sit outside or dry her clothes on a line, and that the smell makes her sick. “A lot of people have talked about this for a long time and felt like there weren’t any solutions”, said Dothula Baron-Hall, who heads a Duplin County group formed to combat hog farms, the Rural Empowerment Association. “But now we have a little bit of hope”. Staff writer Kristin Collins can be reached at 919-829-4881 or mailto:kristin.collins@newsobserver.com

1) Action Alert on CWRA (HR 2421): Declare Your Independence from Uncontrolled Water Pollution!

2) Dangerous CAFOs Legislation

3) Federal Farm Bill Update

4) Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (H.R. 2452).

5) Network’s Global Warming Workgroup wants to hear from you!

6) Beach Act of 2007 Hearing

7) NRDC Beach Bums and Buddies list request.

Update on Corps Reform Network’s Website

9) News From the States..

Action Alert on CWRA (HR 2421): Declare Your Independence from Uncontrolled Water Pollution!

Congressional 4th of July Week Recess is a great time to get in-district meetings with Members of Congress to promote the Clean Water Restoration Act (HR 2421).

Dangerous CAFOs Legislation

In March 2007, legislation was introduced that would exempt hazardous substances in livestock manure and other waste generated by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs),from the reporting and clean-up requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or “Superfund”) and the Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Federal Farm Bill Update

The federal Farm Bill is currently being re-authorized by Congress. The bill is comprehensive legislation that covers a wide array of agricultural programs and provides federal funding to farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and agri-business.

Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (H.R. 2452)

On May 24th Congressmen Timothy Bishop (D-NY) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) introduced the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (H.R. 2452).

Network’s Global Warming Workgroup wants to hear from you!Beach Act 0f 2007 Hearing on Capitol Hill

The US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality held a hearing on June 27th entitled, “Protecting Water Quality at America’s Beaches.”

NRDC’s Beach Bums and Buddies list request

The following request for beach information is from Tonya McLean who is working with Nancy Stoner from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a long time Clean Water Network steering committee member.

Update on Corps Reform Network’s Website News From the States.

Rhode Island General Assembly Votes to Raise Runoff Standards and Protect Bay, Rivers, Lakes and Streams from Pollution.

Copyright ©2007The Clean Water Network

Special thanks to The Clean Water Network for this article posted to this Blog is its original configuration and wording.

Vigil targets N.C. hog waste pollution

Joining together to create what they call the “largest coalition of environmental grass roots organizations ever assembled in North Carolina,” two dozen groups working for environmental justice are holding a vigil this week outside the North Carolina legislature to draw attention to the state’s hog waste pollution problem and the toll it’s taking on people and the environment. The vigil will last for 51 hours — one hour for each day lawmakers are expected to remain in session this year.

North Carolina is home to about 7 million hogs, making it second in the nation for hog production. Raising hogs in confined industrial operations creates an enormous amount of waste that’s currently being sprayed on fields and stored in open cesspools known as “lagoons.” Runoff from these operations is a big contributor to enormous nutrient pollution problem affecting the state’s rivers.

In 1997, the N.C. legislature passed a moratorium on the creation of new hog lagoons as well as the expansion of existing ones. While the moratorium has been extended several times, it’s currently set to expire this September.

The vigil participants — which include religious, environmental advocacy and labor groups — are pushing for legislation that would permanently ban hog waste lagoons and sprayfields. They also want lawmakers to set a date for phasing out current facilities and to provide safe drinking water for people whose groundwater has been contaminated by hog waste pollution.

The vigil begins today at 3 p.m. and is set to last until 6 p.m. on Thursday. Participants will be offering educational materials and showing video documentaries on problems associated with industrial hog operations. They’ll also be meeting with legislators to encourage them to take action. For more details on the legislation under consideration, click here. For more on the vigil, click here. Labels: environment, environmental justice, north carolina, public health posted by Sue Sturgis at 10:59 AM

Open Letter to the North Carolina General Assembly
February 15, 2007

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

For more than 20 years the swine industry has been polluting North Carolina’s air and water by disposing of its untreated animal waste through the use of lagoons and sprayfields. This fact is supported by many research publications. The lagoon system, operated under the pretext of growing crops, is prone to massive failures even under the best of conditions. As rainfall exceeds average, as it frequently does in Eastern North Carolina, these failures often become catastrophic. Undoubtedly, you have followed the thousands of news stories that have regularly reported this industry’s environmental abuses, including the contamination of our air and water.

Now, there is mounting evidence of this industry’s adverse impacts on public health. Gases, including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, accompany the putrid odor that permeates and stresses surrounding communities. One recent study conducted under the auspices of the NC Department of Health and Human Services showed that hog facility neighbors reported more headaches, runny noses, sore throats, coughing, diarrhea, and burning eyes than people who do not live near hog facilities. Other research supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences described odors and asthma symptoms of students in NC middle schools located near these facilities.

Ten long years ago, in reaction to these serious problems, the North Carolina General Assembly imposed a moratorium on construction of new lagoons and sprayfields. Simultaneously, research was conducted to find alternative technologies that would satisfactorily replace the failed lagoon system. In that regard, Dr. Mike Williams of North Carolina State University has recently reported alternative systems proven to be effective. Unfortunately, the industry has rejected the implementation of any of these new technologies, insisting that they are not economically feasible. This rejection is unreasonable; cost wise, nothing will ever favorably compare with an “outhouse” waste disposal system.

Most all of the swine produced in North Carolina, belong to one company, Smithfield Foods. This same company owns many of the facilities where swine are grown. They also own the world’s largest slaughterhouse located in Bladen County. Last year, Smithfield Foods’ net profit was nearly 200 million dollars. In the past five years, their net profits totaled approximately 1 billion dollars. Premium Standard Farms, the nation’s second largest hog producer, also accounts for a significant portion of the hogs raised in North Carolina. PSF enjoyed a profit of $14.8 million in the first three quarters of this fiscal year — profits that were diminished by the costs associated with its proposed merger with Smithfield, which will create a behemoth company controlling much of the American pork market. While North Carolina has shared in some of the financial benefit associated with hog production, it has also suffered a significant financial loss due to this industry’s pollution practices, related health issues and the resulting negative public perception.

We are respectfully requesting the following:

(1) Ending the moratorium by replacing it with a permanent ban on the construction of new lagoons and sprayfields.
(2) Setting of a date certain for eliminating the use of existing lagoons and sprayfields
(3) Immediate implementation of a phase-out program for existing lagoon and sprayfield system with approved alternative technologies.

The attached publications, including North Carolina Public Health (UNC Magazine Winter 2006), Rolling Stone Magazine (December 14, 2006 issue) and Environmental Science and Technology regarding toxic Pfiesteria�an example of harmful microbes that can be stimulated by wastes from industrialized swine feed operations– are relevant to this discussion. They are attached for your review.

Respectfully submitted by the following organizations and individual:

ALLIANCE FOR A RESPONSIBLE SWINE INDUSTRY
CONCERNED CITIZENS OF TILLERY
CAPE FEAR COASTKEEPER
CAPE FEAR RIVER WATCH
CAPE HATTERAS COASTKEEPER
CAPE LOOKOUT COASTKEEPER
CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NORTH CAROLINA
DUPLIN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS PROJECT
LOWER NEUSE RIVERKEEPER
NEUSE RIVER FOUNDATION
NEW RIVER FOUNDATION
NEW RIVERKEEPER
NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL FEDERATION
NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK
OPEN MINDED SENIORS
PAMLICO-TAR RIVER FOUNDATION
PAMLICO-TAR RIVERKEEPER
RURAL EMPOWERMENT ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY HELP
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
UPPER NEUSE RIVERKEEPER
WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE
INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT: FRED STANBACK

Hand-delivered for the group by:

Rick Dove

President, Neuse River Foundation
PO Box 15451, New Bern, NC 28560 (252 447 5821)

A coordinated effort to end lagoons and sprayfileds in NC.

Several lawyers have agreed to help us out and are willing to work on a contingency basis. CWA and tort suits are both being considered. It should take another 10 days to get this firmed up.

We have been flying 5 hours per week—mostly with one airplane. That is about to change with the addition of two other airplanes and crews. Whenever possible, we will fly out of different airports to conserve flying time and money. What we are seeing on our flights is alarming. The countryside is extremely saturated with water and most lagoons that we have flown over are very full. Some are clearly above their freeboard levels. Problematic hog factories are being identified. Testing labs and water monitoring protocols are being developed. Water testing should begin in earnest at multiple facilities in February.

The idea we had to demonstrate odor at the rally has been given a lot of thought. There is a better idea than the one originally conceived. You will receive more information on this subject through emails that will be sent to you individually.

The handouts that we wanted distributed to all members of the General Assembly are being collected. 250 copies of the Rolling Stone Magazines have been received. Two other critical handouts, one on health and another on Pfiesteria will be available to us by the 10th of February. We are scheduling a date soon after that for distribution. We will need some help to get the distribution done in an hour (two at the most). I will fill you in on this in the next few days.

Thanks to the wok and leadership of many individuals, especially Larry, Don, Gary and Devon, our group has grown significantly. The following groups/individuals are participating:

ARSI
CCT
NCEJN
REACH
WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE
NEW RIVERKEEPER (NRF),
CAPE FEAR RIVER WATCH (CFRW)
PAMLICO-TAR RIVERKEEPER (PTRF)
CAPE FEAR COASTKEEPER (NCCR)
CAPE LOOKOUT COASTKEEPER (NCCF)
CAPE HATTERAS COASTKEEPER (NCCF)
LOWER NEUSE RIVERKEEPER (NRF)
UPPER NEUSE RIVERKEEPER (NRF)

If I mistakenly missed someone, please let me know. Others are considering joining up. If you know of others who should be contacted, please let me know?

We’ve off to a great start—let’s quickly build on what we have started. .