Events

Are you impacted by the smells, air, and water quality concerns from concentrated animal feeding operations/factory farms/industrial agriculture? Are you concerned about those who are and want to hear their stories firsthand? Do you feel it is unjust that North Carolina’s environmental regulations surrounding hog, poultry and dairy production regularly promote industry more than protect our communities?

If your answer is yes, then JOIN community members across the state for a People’s Hearing and lend your voice to the discussion about what needs to be done to protect the environment and our communities from the impacts of industrial animal agriculture!

Location: Rebuilding Broken Places CDC, 2105 N. William St., Goldsboro

Lunch, travel subsidies, child care and Spanish interpretation will be provided.

To register and for more information go to ncejn.org/peopleshearing2023.

Background:
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public input on a series of general permits regulating industrial animal operations at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), including permits governing hog, poultry and cattle production. Another has to do with biogas — turning untreated swine waste into energy via anaerobic digester systems, which will further exacerbate conditions for residents living near swine CAFOs. The existing general permits are all set to expire September 2024. They will be renewed for a 5-year term that starts October 2024 and runs until September 2029.

These permits outline how animal waste must be managed at these facilities and the rules meant to prevent waste from harming the environment and nearby communities. Unfortunately, many of these rules are outdated and ineffective, and CAFOs continue to pollute the environment and harm nearby residents across southeastern North Carolina. 

The purpose of the People’s Hearing is to gather testimonies from those impacted by industrial animal operations to prove that NCDEQ must strengthen permits to protect our communities from toxic pollution.

Join us to share your story and get connected with others involved in the fight for healthy communities!