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Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop and Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register paid a second site visit to BIOX Renewables, a Wayne County industrial hog facility turned biogas facility with a history of pollution.

It appears no cleanup of the waste found polluting neighboring land, ditches and Nahunta Swamp has occurred since their January visit, which coincided with an inspection by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

“It was our first visit out there since DEQ issued the notice of violation,” Samantha said. “Thankfully, we did not see the same puddles of black slurry, but that’s no indication that they were cleaned up because there was no evidence of any cleanup or ground moving. It likely means those puddles were diluted by all the snow and snowmelt and passed down into the swamp through the ditch. It’s bittersweet to see that that was gone, because that means the precipitation carried all that waste into Nahunta Swamp.”

Read about NCDEQ’s notice of violation to BIOX Renewables here.

Results from samples collected from the ditches by Taylor supported this theory: the ditches that were filled with odorous black slurry during the last visit had levels of E. Coli well within state standards. However, the outlet drain into Nahunta Swamp was 1413.6MPN (most probable number).

“235 MPN is the threshold for recreational contact with water, so the water that was entering the swamp was about six times higher than what the EPA considers to be ‘too dirty’ to come into contact with skin, mouth, etc., while the other places we sampled from were well below that threshold/had virtually no fecal bacteria,” Taylor said. “We think there must be another ditch connection into that channel before it meets the swamp to cause such a big difference in bacteria numbers, so more investigating is needed on that part.”

Joining Samantha and Taylor on this week’s visit to BIOX Renewables was Down East Coal Ash Environmental and Social Justice Coalition founder Bobby Jones.

“Bobby is a local stakeholder, a community organizer in Goldsboro, and he’s spent decades of his life working on water quality for the Neuse and its tributaries,” Samantha said. “Bobby brings a special lens — an environmental justice lens — about how much this impacts communities, the people who fish in these waterways, and understands the importance of keeping those waterways clean of pathogens and other pollutants.”

In addition to collecting samples to test for E. coli, which staff can do in the Sound Rivers’ lab, Taylor also delivered samples to the lab in Greenville to test for fecal coliform and nutrients. Those results will take a few weeks to be returned.

“It’s frustrating because BIOX Renewables has knowingly and intentionally polluted through mismanagement of the lagoon system and the waste inside,” Samantha said. “Despite the fact they received a notice of violation from DEQ, there’s no evidence they have taken any actions to remediate the pollution. Now, we wait on BIOX Renewables to take the action that DEQ has required them to do. They’ve got to do the cleanup properly.”

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