After 100s Of Hog Waste Lagoon Failures During Hurricanes, Who Pays For Relocation? NC Taxpayers

[hatrack]

Last edited Mon May 17, 2021, 04:22 PM - Edit history (1)

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Compared to other states in the southeast U.S., North Carolina's concentration of industrial animal agriculture in the coastal plain makes it uniquely vulnerable to storms. The region is number one for poultry farms and number two for swine in the U.S., and the majority of these farms are located in the southeast part of the state. There are roughly 2,400 hog farms in the state, many of which are family operations that work for corporate giants like Smithfield or Tyson Foods. "This industry has concentrated in the most vulnerable part of North Carolina [for] these increasingly frequent and severe storms," Hendrick said.

The NC Pork Producers Council acknowledged this problem. "Over the past two decades we've partnered with the State of North Carolina and closed lagoons located in 100-year flood plains," Lindsey said. Lindsey is referring to the voluntary North Carolina Floodplain Buyout Program, which has led to the permanent closure of 43 hog farms and around 103 waste lagoons from 2000 after Hurricane Floyd to summer 2020.

More North Carolina hog farmers would participate in the buyout program if there was more funding, Lindsey added. "This is a place where our industry and our critics could work together to secure additional funding and continue our efforts to reduce operations in 100-year flood plains."

In 2018, in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, Governor Roy Cooper included in his recovery recommendations funding for "either buyout industrial animal operations in the 500-year flood plain or to help them convert to better technology." From that recommendation, the legislature committed $5 million to expand the Floodplain Buyout Program. Data on these additional buyouts is not yet available. But Hendrick said that funding for these buyout programs relies on taxpayers dollars, raising the question of whether North Carolinians should have to foot the bill for corporate mismanagement.

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https://www.dailyclimate.org/north-carolina-hurricanes-hog-farms-2653010129/north-carolina-flooding

[The Jungle 1]

1. In Pa we still pay millions every year to clean up the coal mine acid waste.

We have 4000 miles of dead streams because of this pollution.
The trust fund babies are still around.

[msongs]

2. tax all products made from dead pigs. let the carnivores pay for their waste nt