Right in our backyard, 10 billion gallons of hog waste is being stored in massive ‘lagoons’ while the excess is being sprayed onto local fields.[1] North Carolina is among the top five states operating Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the country.[2] These CAFOs are often located in low-income, minority communities, leading to significant environmental injustice concerns.[3] According to a study conducted at Duke, death due to lung disease, anemia, tuberculosis and more occur at higher rates in the surrounding communities of hog farms as compared to communities located further away.[4] To remedy the disproportionate impact of hog waste on nearby communities, the Biden administration must revisit and rectify Clinton’s Executive Order 12898 of 1994. Through increased enforcement and data-driven approaches surrounding environmental justice, the Biden administration will have a unique opportunity to advance the environmental justice frontier.
Hog farms are a major component of North Carolina’s economy as it ranks second in the nation in hog production.[5] Highly concentrated in eastern North Carolina, counties such as Duplin and Sampson, farm close to two million pigs, the largest pig farming counties in the entire U.S.[6] Many of the farms are located near majority African American communities. Those living near these hog production facilities experience airborne emissions, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, that produce an intolerable odor and cause serious respiratory concerns.[7]A majority of these low-income, minority community members lack proper resources to protect themselves against CAFO consequences, such as access to healthcare and a platform to speak out against injustices.[8]
The prevalence of North Carolina hog farms and its negative effects on surrounding communities goes largely unnoticed by the general public. Beginning in 2014, 26 separate cases were brought against the Murphy-Brown, LLC, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.[9] African Americans, making up a majority of the cases, shoulder the burden of lacking legislation. The mechanisms for pollution enforcement are weak and do not provide minority communities an opportunity to protect themselves against harmful emissions. Due to the EPA and DOJ’s failure to properly enforce environmental justice in these communities, the Biden administration must take action to ameliorate this disproportionate environmental burden.
In the wake of Bill Clinton’s Executive order 12898, enforcement has proved to be its largest impediment. EO 12898 was meant to require federal agencies to include environmental justice as part of their mission. Unfortunately, the order never established legitimate mechanisms to enforce EJ inclusion and lacked any consequences for agencies that failed to do so.[10] To alleviate environmental injustice within minority communities, the Biden administration must emphasize enforcement of regulations rather than celebrating completed legislation. I propose the Biden administration implement a new subsidiary of the DOJ to enforce the environmental justice practices implemented by the administration. This new subsidiary of the DOJ would function as a policing agency to ensure federal agencies comply with the guidelines of EO 12898. Additionally, this new branch would be able to bring sanctions upon any agency that failed to comply with the guidelines. The current extent of EO 12898 is that it lays out a framework for individual agencies or programs to implement environmental justice strategies. The Biden administration should build off this foundation and implement a system to enforce these guidelines. The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ has been an important player in environmental protection but has lacked a focus on environmental justice.[11] The ENRD should be consolidated with a new agency to hone in on promoting and enforcing environmental justice. There has been some talk of creating and Environmental and Climate Justice Division in the DOJ.[12] This is an essential step in ensuring all communities can share in experiencing a healthy environment.
Environmental protection moving forward must place a greater emphasis on environmental justice. Too many communities in America face the consequences of short-sighted regulation that disproportionally places the environmental burden on minorities. The case of hog waste in North Carolina is a quintessential example of poor regulation having serious ramifications on the well-being of nearby communities. It is critical the government take action to enforce the regulations it implements. The Biden administration must take advantage of its democratically controlled Congress and invoke new laws centered around enforcement.
Endnotes:
[1] “The North Carolina Hog Industry’s Answer to Pollution: a $500m Pipeline Project.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Dec. 2020.
[2] Christen, Caroline. “Top Pork Producing States: Who Is the Largest Pork Producer in the U.S.?” Sentient Media, 1 Feb. 2021.
[3] Wing, S, et al. “Environmental Injustice in North Carolina’s Hog Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 108, no. 3, 2000, pp. 225–231.
[4] News, Duke Health. “N.C. Residents Living Near Large Hog Farms Have Elevated Disease, Death Risks.” Duke Department of Surgery, 19 Sept. 2018.
[5] Guidry, Virginia T., et al. “Connecting Environmental Justice and Community Health.” North Carolina Medical Journal, North Carolina Medical Journal, 1 Sept. 2018.
[6] Christen, Caroline. “Top Pork Producing States: Who Is the Largest Pork Producer in the U.S.?” Sentient Media, 1 Feb. 2021.
[7] Wing, S, et al. “Environmental Injustice in North Carolina’s Hog Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 108, no. 3, 2000, pp. 225–231., doi:10.1289/ehp.00108225.
[8] Guidry, Virginia T., et al. “Connecting Environmental Justice and Community Health.” North Carolina Medical Journal, North Carolina Medical Journal, 1 Sept. 2018.
[9] Tiffany.dowell, and Tiffany.dowell. “Appellate Court Affirms Liability in North Carolina Nuisance Case; Smithfield Announces Settlement.” Texas Agriculture Law, 3 Dec. 2020.
[10] “What Biden Could Learn from Bill Clinton’s Unfinished Work on Environmental Justice.” Grist, 1 Apr. 2021.
[11] “Biden Bolsters DOJ Focus on Environmental Justice, Climate (3).” Bloomberg Law, news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/biden-bolsters-doj-focus-on-environmental-justice-climate.
[12] “The Biden Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and Equitable Economic Opportunity.” Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, 30 Oct. 2020.