Although it’s no longer in operation, an eastern North Carolina farm that was fined nearly $35,000 by the NC DEQ in December 2022 after millions of cubic feet of nutrient- and bacteria-laden “foam” was released into Nahunta Swamp continues to receive notices of pollution violations from the state.
Last month, White Oak Farm/Legacy Biogas in Wayne County was given a notice for not maintaining lagoons and animal waste structures, creating sources of further pollution.
Sound Rivers’ Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop said the latest inspection affirms that the unmaintained facility is actively polluting the surrounding area and said that’s another environmental disaster waiting to happen.
In May of 2022, about 3 million cubic feet of foam, comprised of decomposing hog waste, hog carcasses, expired Smithfield deli meats and hot dogs, oozed from beneath a ruptured biogas cover and some of it spilled into the swamp.
In November of 2023, NCDEQ required the owners to close the existing hog waste lagoons and apply for a new permit for new lagoons in order to stay in operation.
The current owners are in bankruptcy and White Oak Farms is up for auction.
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