NC pig farmer sent to prison for polluting river with hog waste www.privateofficer.com

 

 

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC Feb 14 2012 - A hog farm in Columbus County was ordered to pay $1.5 million in fines, restitution and community service payments for violations to the federal Clean Water Act. The president of the farm will also serve time in prison.

Freedman Farms, Inc. allowed hog waste to enter into a stream that leads into the Waccamaw River.

The court sentenced William B. Freedman, president of the farms, to six months in prison plus six months of home confinement.
The farm will have to pay a half million dollar criminal fine, plus $925,000 in restitution. A judge plans to hold a status conference in thirty days to further examine the restitution process.
The farm will also have to pay a $75,000 community service payment to the Southern Environmental Enforcement Network.

The company will also have to start a comprehensive environmental compliance program.

“William Freedman and Freedman Farms will be held accountable for polluting waterways and wetlands in Columbus County and the Waccamaw River watershed,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice in an emailed news release. “Owners and operators of concentrated animal feeding operations must comply with the nation’s Clean Water Act for the protection of America’s streams, wetlands, and rivers.”

The incident dates back to December 2007. Waste from roughly 4,800 hogs was meant for two lagoons for treatment and disposal. However, the waste ended up being discharged from Freedman Farms to Browder’s Branch.

Source:WECT