Failed Smithfield Pact Leaves Hog Waste Crisis Unresolved

A 2000 agreement between North Carolina and Smithfield Foods to replace hog waste lagoons with cleaner technology has failed, according to those involved. Hurricane Fran in 1996 caused massive spills of hog waste, and the state's concentrated animal feeding operations continue to pollute nearby communities, mostly Black and low-income residents.

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The agreement's structure included a 25-year payment schedule of up to $2 million annually for environmental grants, plus $15 million dedicated to researching alternatives to the lagoon system. An 11-member economic subcommittee, including five industry representatives, evaluated whether replacement technologies were financially viable.

Smithfield ultimately determined the cleaner technologies were not economically feasible, leaving the state's thousands of open lagoons and sprayfields operational.