1. Hog-Waste Hurricanes: Extreme Weather Events and the need for stronger regulations in North Carolina CAFOs
Kelly Hanna

2. Overview IA. WHAT ARE CAFOS? IB. HURRICANES IN NORTH CAROLINA
Qualifications
CAFOs in North Carolina
Threats to water security
IB. HURRICANES IN NORTH CAROLINA
Previous destruction
Recent destruction from Hurricane Florence
Threat of increased hurricanes thanks to climate change
II. CURRENT CAFO REGULATIONS
III. PROPOSED REGULATIONS

3. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
CAFO:
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
Provide 99% of animal products to Americans
Facility housing the following
2,500 hogs
1,000 cattle
700 dairy cows
Or 125,000 chickens

5. North Carolina: CAFOs are the norm.
Second-largest hog-farming industry in the U.S.
Generates $3 billion annually
To be exact:
With 2,300 hog CAFOs throughout the state, NC has more than 9 million hogs
Almost 4,000 hogs per farm

7. Where does all of the waste go?

8. Waste-Water Lagoons: A Threat to Water Security
NC utilizes over 4,000 lagoons
170 are located within the state’s 100-year floodplain
136 are located within a half mile of public water wells
10 billion gallons of wet waste is produced annually
Unlined pits

9. Most CAFOs fall within state’s largest river basin

10. What happens to lagoons during flooding?
Overtopping and Breaching
Contaminants and volatile compounds released when overtopping occurs:
Phosphorus, ammonia, nitrogen, pathogens, sulfides, methane, hormones, and antibiotics
Water Contamination poses a variety of threats
No longer potable
Increased nutrients in the water leads to eutrophication
HABs can take a toll on fish stocks and other species populations
Increased antibiotic resistance and weakened human immune systems
Largest source of ammonia

12. Studies show that flooding events are going to increase as a consequence of climate change.
NOAA predicts a 20% increase of category 3, 4, and 5 storms by the end of the century.

13. Hurricanes in North Carolina
79 tropical or subtropical cyclones;
37 deaths; $3 billion worth of damage : :
120 tropical or subtropical cyclones; 77 direct casualties; $10 billion worth of damage

14. Hurricane Florence: a new level of destruction
Category 4
Over $22 billion in damages thus far
CPF was 25 feet above flood level
Over 110 overtopped lagoons
2.2 million gallons of waste water released into surrounding ecosystems

16. The Role of Climate Change
Increased global temperatures leads to:
Higher evaporation rates
Increased surface water temperature
Hurricanes draw energy from atmospheric moisture and surface water.
Weakened jet stream changes atmospheric blocking patters, allowing for longer storm duration.

17. EXISTING REGULATIONS 1. Clean Water Act 2. Relocation of CAFOs
3. Clean Air Act

18. Clean Water Act (CWA)
Required to receive a permit under NPDES system
Sets standard for TMDL into water bodies
Only for large CAFOs
Broad exemption for storm water runoff
Statewide initiative for a program that buys CAFOs and relocates them away from the floodplain

19. Clean Air Act (CAA) Regulates major sources of air emissions only
Pushback from the industry has allowed leniency
Agricultural exemption from Title V
Combatting air emissions does not necessarily equate to combating lagoons.
CAA: EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards based on the latest science, and requires states to adopt enforceable plans to achieve the standards.
Title V permits are operating permits issued by permitting authorities to air pollution sources after the source has begun to operate. Title V permits record in one document all of the air pollution control requirements that apply to the source, and require the source to certify each year whether or not it has met the requirements of its permit.
Treating the air as it leaves the building with biofilters can reduce dust and odors by 90%

20. PROPOSED REGULATIONS 1. Nuisance Cases 2. Amend the Clean Water Act
3. Incentivize Anaerobic Digesters

21. Some nuisance claims regarding spray-fields have seen success
McKiver, et al. v. Murphy-Brown LLC
Jacobs, et al. v. Murphy-Brown LLC ($473mil to 500 plaintiffs)
Eliminate or amend right-to-farm laws so corporations are not so heavily favored.
In addition, only people living within half a mile of a farm can file such lawsuits. And they must act within a year of a farming operation starting or undergoing a “fundamental” change.
Existing state right-to-farm law says changes in ownership, size or what’s produced on a farm do not qualify as fundamental changes.

22. Eliminate the storm water exemption in the CWA.
CAFOs could be held liable for damage comparable to municipality liability for sewage backup
Would achieve same nuisance claim success of monetary reward and negative publicity
Could inspire CAFOs to turn to alternative waste disposal…
caused by the negligence of the entity charged with operating the local sewer system.
Governmental entity usually claims that the event happened randomly or as some “act of god” but many times,
The sewage backup occurs as a result of holes or cross connections that allow rainwater to enter the relatively small sanitary sewer system which causes pressure and surcharging and ultimately leads to a sewage backup.

23. State government should incentivize anaerobic digesters for existing facilities and require them in future facilities.
INCENTIVES IN THE FORM OF TAX CREDITS
How it works: closed space free of oxygen; microbes break down material
Biogas is a renewable, as well as a clean, source of energy. Gas generated through biodigestion is non-polluting; it actually reduces greenhouse emissions (i.e. reduces the greenhouse effect). No combustion takes place in the process, meaning there is zero emission of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere; therefore, using gas from waste as a form of energy is actually a great way to combat global warming.

24. Eliminates need for over 14 lagoons
Prevents emission of 73,000 tons of methane annually
USING AD WILL LAREGLY ELIMINATE THE NEED FORNATURAL GAS COMBUSTION AS AN ENERGY SOURCE
LESSENS GHG EMISSIONS
NO NEED FOR DRILLING/TRANSPORTATION
Accounts for 14 CAFOs and 13,500 cows
Powers over 3,000 homes

25. Thank you!