Lawsuit Says Smithfield Biogas Project Must Fix Water Pollution And Environmental Injustices
On behalf of the Environmental Justice Community Action Network and Cape Fear River Watch, the Southern Environmental Law Center today challenged in the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings four state permits for Smithfield-owned hog operations to use giant pits of untreated hog feces and urine to produce gas while spraying the harmful waste on surrounding areas, which continues a long history of water pollution and harm to the families – disproportionately Black and Brown people – living nearby.
“The law requires Smithfield to use cleaner technology, and Smithfield is not above the law,” said Blakely Hildebrand, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Smithfield must do more to stop its pollution and continued environmental injustices rather than clinging to the cheapest, most harmful method possible to handle untreated sewage collecting it in pits and spraying it
Carolina Journal is taking a brief look at each new member of the General Assembly 10 in the Senate and 11 in the House. We look at where they’ve been, what they’re doing now, and what we might expect them to do as lawmakers.
The 2021-22 session began in late January. Expect COVID-19 and the ongoing fallout from the pandemic to be top priorities for lawmakers, who are crafting a new budget for the biennium. They’ll also draw new legislative and congressional maps for the next decade based on fresh census data. Each legislator, too, has their own priorities.
On Friday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Clean Air Carolina, challenged the air permit granted to Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy that allows them to build a biogas facility in Sampson and Duplin counties.
Smithfield and Dominion received the air permit Jan. 6 from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality for their renewable natural gas facility called Align RNG, a project that will convert hog waste into renewable gas. The law center is challenging the DEQ s decision saying the two companies refuse to provide key details about the project including a list of participating hog farms and potential environmental impacts, according to the press release.
Four things in Wilmington (in-person and virtual) to celebrate MLK Day
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is historically a time to reflect on the late Civil Rights leader and his thoughts and goals for a better world during a time when society was changing and colliding.
And as issues such as racial injustice and more recently a Capitol Hill riot remain at the forefront, the anniversary of King s birthday on Friday MLK Day, however, observed Monday perhaps holds more meaning than ever.
So while some annual MLK Day events, such as the downtown parade, are canceled this year due to COVID-19, others have emerged online while a few in-person gatherings are scheduled with protocols such as social distancing.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation and Clean Air Carolina have petitioned the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission seeking state action to reduce heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.