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Hog factory farms settle water pollution suits
07/12/2001

Magnolia, North Carolina, (ENS) - Murphy Farms and D.M. Farms of Rose Hill have agreed to take specific measures to prevent future discharges of swine waste at five hog farms in Magnolia and to pay a fine of $72,000 for past water pollution.

This agreement settles an enforcement action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the hog farms' violations of the Clean Water Act. Three citizens organizations - the American Canoe Association, the Professional Paddlesports Association and the Conservation Council of North Carolina - joined the EPA in filing suit against the companies.

The EPA and citizen lawsuits alleged a number of illegal discharges to the Cape Fear River Basin from the swine operations. An earlier decision by the federal District Court in North Carolina resulted in the state issuing to D.M. Farms the state's first National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).

Because of the environmental and health concerns created by the concentration of large swine CAFOs in eastern North Carolina, the EPA has been working with North Carolina to ensure development of an effective permitting program for these large farms.

Measures called for in the settlement include stream buffers; marking of spraying areas; inspections; training of personnel; taking certain sprayfield areas out of service; and improved record keeping. The NPDES permit contains additional measures to prevent further discharges.

Animal waste and wastewater can enter water bodies from spills or breaks of waste storage structures, or from the non-agricultural application of manure to cropland. These wastes can contribute pollutants such as nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, sediments, pathogens, heavy metals, hormones, antibiotics and ammonia to the environment.

These pollutants can contaminate drinking water supplies and cause fish kills.

The past several decades have seen substantial changes in the animal production industry including the expansion of confined production units, and the concentration of large farms in the same geographic area. These changes have brought an increased risk to water quality and public health because of the amount of manure and wastewater CAFOs generate.

Source: ENS

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