Managing Impacts from CAFOs
Poultry CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) as defined in the North Carolina General statutes have more than 30,000 poultry at a single facility. There are more than 593 large-scale, corporately controlled facilities across the state that keep more than 500,000 chickens each. That’s a lot of poultry and a lot of animal waste that no one, including the state, knows where it goes!
The industry is minimally regulated which can lead to unchecked amounts of pollution including nutrients, such as nitrogen, ammonia and phosphorous, and bacteria from these facilities pouring into our state’s waterways.
According to the Environmental Working Group and Waterkeeper Alliance, “from 2012 to 2019, the estimated number of chickens and turkeys in Duplin, Sampson and Robeson counties swelled from 83 million to 113 million, a 36% increase.”1 These three counties also have large numbers of hog CAFOs, compounding the amount of waste that is polluting North Carolina Waterways.
Poultry CAFOs pose a risk to human health, and the environment. When CAFOs improperly manage their waste, they can contaminate waterways and drinking water and make people sick. The air and water pollution from these CAFOs can include nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, toxic gases including methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia and even deadly bacteria and viruses such as MRSA and salmonella.
With the highest density of CAFOs in the Cape Fear River Basin, Waterkeepers Carolina member Cape Fear River Watch is working to stop pollution from these operations in the region. One way they do this is by partnering with SouthWings – an organization that connects conservation partners with a network of volunteer pilots - to get a “birds-eye” view of these operations to track expansion and report violations to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. This is especially necessary given the lack of permit and reporting requirements on these facilities.
There are many ways that farmers and our state government can help reduce the damage of poultry CAFOs. The best path forward is more stringent regulations and buyouts to help stop pollution including:
The Poultry Siting Act is a proactive step that would prevent new CAFO construction within the 500-year flood plain.
A poultry buyout program to remove facilities within the 100-year flood plain.
A Nutrient Waste Utilization Plan that prohibits land application of poultry waste within 100 feet of surface waters to prevent seepage into our waterways.
Learn more about the policies that could protect North Carolina's water in the future.
Waterkeepers Carolina strives to work with farmers to find a sustainable, environmentally sound path forward for our water, our people and our wildlife.
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