The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources is investigating the release of animal waste from Murphy-Brown Farm 7692 in Bladen County, the agency announced Saturday. The facility estimates nearly 30,000 gallons of waste reached a nearby creek.
As soon as the discharge was discovered, farm personnel took immediate steps to both stop the flow and contain and return the wastewater to the farm’s permitted system, according to a news release from Smithfield Foods.
The farm is located at 11486 Old Fayetteville Road, Fayetteville.
Division of Water Resources was notified Friday evening of a recirculation pipe failure that resulted in a discharge of untreated animal waste.
The discharge resulted from a break in a recycle line on the farm. The volume of the discharge was estimated to be between 25,000 and 30,000 gallons. The wastewater entered a ditch that leads to Little Turnbull Creek that leads to Turnbull Creek. Remediation efforts have been successful in capturing and returning to the permitted system the majority of the discharged material.
Division of Water Resources staff conducted an on-site investigation. Waste was observed approximately 0.69 miles from the secondary containment on the facility, a news release said. Waste in the creek appeared to be contained in the area by a beaver dam. The facility initiated pumping to recover the waste Friday night and throughout the day Saturday.
Division of Water Resources said it will continue on-site inspections throughout the clean-up and will take appropriate action based on the results of the investigation.
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