‘it’s Nasty’: One Man’s Fight Against North Carolina’s Hog Industry

By Will Atwater

Within months of buying his Whiteville location successful 2019, Larry Sparrow discovered what it meant to unrecorded crossed nan roadworthy from a hog farm. One peculiar incident signaled nan struggle ahead.

“I was successful my backyard, and boy, [the stench] astir ripped my toenails consecutive off!” he said.

From that infinitesimal on, Sparrow realized that it was going to beryllium a challenge.

“The first [odor] brushwood — that’s what forced maine to commencement doing nan documentation, doing nan investigation and getting educated,” he said. “That was nan opening of wherever I americium correct now.”

After retiring from his occupation arsenic a wastewater curen installation head successful Virginia and moving to eastbound North Carolina, Sparrow said he was looking guardant to life successful nan slow lane. 

“I wanted to spell location wherever I could spell beryllium successful my backyard, instrumentality my caput successful nan sand, and fto nan world move astir me.”

But six years aft moving to North Carolina, Sparrow said galore of nan aforesaid problems that neighbors cited successful nan high-profile nuisance tests a decade agone still persist—including foul odors and flies from adjacent hog operations.

For Larry Sparrow, surviving crossed nan thoroughfare from a hog workplace intends much than unpleasant odors — it’s a financial burden. “I tin ne'er unfastened a model successful my house, ever,” he said. “You don’t cognize erstwhile [the smell] is coming crossed nan road.” Credit: Will Atwater / NC Health News

Sparrow’s frustrations bespeak nan broader struggles of galore North Carolinians who unrecorded adjacent business hog farms. These residents now person less options for having their complaints heard aliases addressed by authorities regulators successful nan aftermath of actions by nan General Assembly that protect nan industry.

Now there’s an added concern: A caller study recovered pig fecal matter extracurricular and wrong nan homes of residents surviving adjacent concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Hog waste, quality wellness concerns

North Carolina is nan third-largest hog-producing authorities successful nan U.S., down only Iowa and Minnesota, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2023, hogs generated $2.7 cardinal successful rate receipts — making up 16 percent of nan state’s astir $17 cardinal successful full workplace income, and they are a important contributor to nan state’s $111 cardinal agriculture and agribusiness sector.

Eastern North Carolina, wherever Sparrow moved successful 2019 to bask retirement, is nan epicenter of nan state’s hog industry. About an hr and 20 minutes northbound of his location successful Columbus County is Sampson County — 1 of nan nation’s apical hog-producing counties, on pinch neighboring Duplin County. In 2023, nan 2 counties produced a mixed full of nearly 4 cardinal hogs.

Statewide, astir 9.5 cardinal hogs make much than 10 cardinal gallons of waste, according to a 2020 archive published by nan Duke Nicholas School of nan Environment. 

All that discarded has to spell somewhere.

On farms, hog discarded is funneled into lagoons — open-air ponds that cod liquid manure. Periodically, nan discarded is siphoned from nan lagoon and sprayed onto adjacent cultivation fields arsenic fertilizer. But nan believe has drawn disapproval from residents and biology advocates who opportunity it contributes to runoff contamination and carries manure particles onto neighboring properties — including wrong homes.

While spraying helps negociate sludge buildup successful nan lagoons, it besides adds nitrates to nan ungraded and pollutes nan air. Because nitrates are highly soluble, they tin leach into groundwater. Elevated nitrate levels successful drinking h2o person been linked to wellness risks, including long-term crab concerns.

Beyond nan odor of airborne pig waste, studies show that semipermanent vulnerability to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in spray droplets tin summation nan consequence of cardiovascular disease.

Health concerns widen beyond aerial quality. A 2022 study found that group surviving adjacent hog concentrated animal feeding operations are treated for acute gastrointestinal unwellness astatine higher rates than those surviving farther away. According to nan report, vulnerability to drinking h2o contaminated by pathogens from hog discarded — aliases inhaling airborne discarded from sprayfields — tin consequence successful diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and different gastrointestinal distress.

Limiting measures

Mounting wellness and biology complaints helped laic nan groundwork for a activity of high-profile nuisance lawsuits. Between 2014 and 2019, nearly 500 North Carolinians sued Murphy‑Brown, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, complete nan odors, flies, particulate and sound generated by neighboring hog operations.

After nan plaintiffs prevailed successful each of nan 26 nuisance cases, successful 2018, North Carolina General Assembly passed Senate Bill 711 — besides known arsenic nan North Carolina Farm Act of 2018 — which limits nan expertise to bring nuisance laws against hog operations. 

Among nan bill’s provisions: Anyone wishing to writer a CAFO must unrecorded wrong a half-mile of nan operation, ain nan affected property, and record nan title wrong 1 twelvemonth of nan farm’s establishment. Even if those conditions are met, nan rule still limits imaginable relief.

“That plaintiff, if they succeed, cannot get what are called punitive damages unless nan hog cognition has been nan taxable of criminal enforcement aliases civilian enforcement,” said Blakely Hilldebrand, Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney. “It really raises nan barroom for immoderate neighbour that is affected by nan noxious odors, nan buzzards and flies and everything that comes pinch surviving adjacent a hog operation.”

David v. Goliath

Although successful 2025 it’s much difficult for Larry Sparrow to get alleviation from nan impaired value of life he and galore different eastbound North Carolina residents experience, he hasn’t stopped trying. One of his main devices successful this conflict is his nose.

Sparrow gets up each greeting and brews himself a cup of coffee. After inhaling that rich | aroma, he steps extracurricular and faces nan hog farm. Then he takes a heavy breath. 

Sparrow assigns a numeric worth to nan odors he detects, utilizing a standard of 1 to 5 based connected a strategy that nan North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality utilized successful nan past. The section now uses olfactometers to quantify odors, according to a spokesperson. 

“There are days erstwhile I don’t get an odor … that’s nan measurement it works,” Sparrow said. “[If] I’m sitting outside, [an odor] could rotation complete present successful a second, and I’d get my butt up and spell successful nan location because it’s nasty.”

The aerial photograph shows nan region betwixt a hog CAFO and Larry Sparrow’s property. Credit: Google Earth

Over nan years, Sparrow said he’s revenge respective complaints pinch DEQ and precocious wrote a missive to Gov. Josh Stein.

“When I wrote nan governor, he forced NC DEQ to do an inspection,” Sparrow said. “They came successful and did a pre-inspection. Then they said, ‘Okay, we’re coming backmost successful 30 days and do a monolithic inspection.”

That preliminary inspection took spot successful May. However, Sparrow said he has not received immoderate accusation astir whether nan follow-up inspection occurred.

Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette, who besides is executive head of Cape Fear River Watch, said Sparrow’s vexation pinch nan agency is common.

“I find that DEQ is slow to respond,” Burdette said. “They’re slow to rumor notices of usurpation — if they rumor them astatine each — and landowners, neighbors, advocates and citizens can’t get immoderate accusation astir nan complaints they revenge until a announcement of usurpation is issued. That mightiness return months. It’s a strategy intelligibly designed to protect CAFOs astatine nan disbursal of nan group who unrecorded adjacent them.”

Sparrow said he agrees and doesn’t person overmuch religion successful a process that gives nan husbandman a 30-day notice. He noted that surviving adjacent a hog workplace has affected his and his wife’s value of life — and has had an economical effect too.

“It costs maine money, surviving crossed nan street. I tin ne'er unfastened a model successful my house, ever, because you don’t cognize erstwhile [the smell] is coming crossed nan road,” he said.

Beyond nan odor, location are nan flies that Sparrow said tin show up astatine immoderate time  — moreover successful nan wintertime months.

“I mean thousands and thousands of flies,” he said. “They get connected your walls. I’ve had to wax my vehicles because anytime they poop, if you don’t get that off, it almost becomes permanent.”

Suffering successful silence

Reflecting connected nan conflict he’s waged — pinch small occurrence —for alleviation from nuisance issues stemming from nan adjacent hog operation, Sparrow said he believes that for each personification who files a complaint, galore much suffer successful silence. Some consciousness hopeless, he said, while others don’t cognize who to interaction aliases person simply resigned themselves to nan conditions of surviving adjacent a CAFO.

“I perfectly deliberation that is true,” said Burdette successful an email. He said location are respective imaginable reasons why group don’t speak out. 

“I deliberation it’s a operation of folks not knowing really to record a complaint, having tried erstwhile aliases doubly pinch nary consequence aliases resolution, intimidation, lives that are excessively consumed pinch conscionable getting by, pinch nary clip aliases power to navigate nan strategy — a strategy which nary 1 thinks is working.”

An lawyer pinch knowledge of nan nuisance tests said that Sparrow’s business is for illustration nan plaintiffs successful nan Murphy-Brown lawsuits — it’s a spot authorities issue. But now nan authorities has made it harder for Sparrow and others to activity a ineligible remedy.

Nonetheless, Sparrow said he continues to archive what he sees and smells — conscionable successful lawsuit nan rule changes.

“I understand that everybody’s sewage to make a living,” he said. “But I’m not going to beryllium present and twiddle my thumbs and fto you make money and maine suffer.” 

He stated, “Nobody should beryllium capable to impact my value of life — anybody’s value of life — and put money successful their pouch astatine nan aforesaid time.”

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