Abstract:
Smithfield Packing is asking the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to remove essential environmental protections from the Tar Heel plant’s wastewater discharge permit. Smithfield also wants limits lifted on groundwater withdrawal, to requirements rescinded for environmental management systems, and removal of a ban on buying hogs from farms that use waste lagoons. The company is being regulated for many environmental violations and for their excessive use of groundwater, both of which harm local residents and the environment.