DEQ: Stay out of Swift Creek in Craven County because of hog waste spill

DEQ is advising people to stay out Swift Creek from Honolulu Road to Highway 118 west of Vanceboro.(Map: DEQ, annotation Lisa Sorg)

The state Department of Environmental Quality is advising the public to avoid fishing, swimming or wading in a portion of Swift Creek in Craven County because waste from a hog farm has polluted the waterway.

Saint John Farm in Grifton, which raises hogs for Smithfield Foods, is responsible for the release, according to DEQ.

On April 30, DEQ received a report that waste from the farm had discharged into ditches that feed Swift Creek, which flows into the Neuse River. The state determined that the owners had over-applied the waste to pasture land, resulting in the runoff, which violates the farm’s water quality permit.

Hog urine and feces is typically is pumped from the barns into lagoons; to keep the lagoons from getting too full, farmers apply the waste using giant spray guns onto their fields. Critics of this practice note that the waste seeps into the soil, groundwater and even drinking water wells, or can enter surface water. In some cases, the spray has even landed on neighboring homes and people.

The state last visited the farm on April 19, as part of a routine inspection. During that visit, the inspector noted that the land application fields needed improved.

At the time of the inspection, there were 1,863 hogs onsite; the farm is permitted to raise as many as 2,400 at a time.

The incident remains under investigation, DEQ said, including the amount discharged, the cause, and any necessary corrective actions.

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