CAFO Lagoons in North Carolina: A Case Study in Advocacy and State Administrative Law

Eastern North Carolina’s landscape is pocked with artificial lagoons holding a noxious liquid that causes suffering both for local residents and the global climate. The liquid? Hog manure, held in giant, open-air pits that are used by large-scale industrial facilities called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), In CAFOs, operators raise large numbers of animals in confined spaces that allow for easier feeding and waste management — and higher profits.

The manure lagoons hold massive amounts of waste, which is sprayed on nearby fields as fertilizer in levels that, many advocates note, are excessive and unnecessary. CAFOs are known for their purported production efficiency but pose severe environmental and public health risks due to the massive amounts of waste they generate, and local fights against this practice have made their way into the courts.

In June, the People’s Parity Project brought together a diverse group of legal professionals, law students, and other interested parties to discuss pressing social and environmental issues related to the law. It was an empowering and educational weekend, and the fight against North Carolina’s CAFO lagoons was featured in a panel I attended on state administrative law.

The panel, “Advancing Justice Through State Courts,” tackled the ongoing efforts across the country to advance progress in administrative and legal reforms through state courts. Jasmine Washington, an associate attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) whose work has focused on CAFOs in North Carolina, was the featured guest.

Washington highlighted critical concerns surrounding industrial livestock practices, particularly the handling and disposal of pig waste, as well as its associated environmental and health hazards — manure lagoons often flood into the surrounding areas, contaminate groundwater, and emit significant amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

According to Washington, Smithfield, the factory farm corporation responsible for the bulk of the CAFOs in North Carolina, has admitted that its methods are outdated. However, the company resists phasing them out due to the higher costs of alternatives. When SELC took Smithfield to court to enforce safeguards against its CAFO operations, an administrative law judge ruled in favor of the corporation, allowing it to bypass previous permitting requirements, a decision Washington and her team appealed to the state district court. Unfortunately, the state court of appeals, influenced by newly elected conservative judges, also ruled against stricter permitting.

Disproportionate Impacts of Hog Lagoons and CAFOs on Environmental Justice Communities

The current landscape of CAFOs in North Carolina contributes to significant negative environmental and health outcomes. A primary concern is water pollution, as runoff from these operations frequently contaminates rivers and streams, posing risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Over 20 years ago, the EPA found that “close to 1,600 wells located near factory farms in North Carolina were tested for nitrate contamination. Thirty-four percent of the wells showed nitrate contamination; ten percent of the wells had a nitrate level that exceeded the drinking water standard. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services stated that the cause of the contamination was leaking hog lagoons and hog wastewater sprayfields” (Cesspools of Shame, Natural Resources Defense Council, 33).

Additionally, CAFO emissions worsen air quality and harm human health, since gases such as ammonia and methane are linked to respiratory problems and increased exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria among nearby residents. These health issues are compounded by environmental racism, as CAFOs are disproportionately located in Black and low-income communities through inequitable siting. These populations bear the brunt of CAFO pollution and associated health hazards, further exacerbating existing social and health disparities.

Strengthening Regulations to Protect Human Health

Despite state regulations intended to govern CAFO practices, the effectiveness of these enforcement mechanisms is highly questionable. Regulatory oversight is frequently inadequate, focused mainly on supporting the hog industry instead of regulating it and protecting residents from pollution. While there is an existing permitting system for these hog farms, it is woefully outdated and does not even require groundwater monitoring for any of the lagoon operations. Regulations of CAFOs in North Carolina are so meager that dry poultry litters do not even require a permit to be put into operation.

The aforementioned reports on the environmental and health impacts on eastern North Carolina communities highlight that existing regulations are inconsistent and insufficient, leaving vulnerable communities without adequate protection. This regulatory shortfall underscores the need for more robust and effective measures to advance environmental justice and public health in North Carolina.

Efforts to rein in liquid manure lagoons have been underway since they first started to populate the eastern North Carolina region in the late 1980s. SELC filed a complaint with the EPA over the permits the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued in April 2021 to allow Smithfield to use the lagoons for energy production. In response, the EPA launched an investigation into the permitting for CAFOs in North Carolina due to the alleged environmental racism being permitted by the state.

The work by organizations like SELC to combat these massive polluters and health issues is essential in bringing accountability to corporations like Smithfield and the state regulatory agencies tasked with regulating them. However, this is not enough, and the state of North Carolina urgently needs to reform its regulatory framework for CAFOs to phase out these animal waste lagoons and protect the residents exposed to them.