090086_NOV-2020-DV-0402_20200903

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
September 2, 2020
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7019 0700 0000 3643 1311
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Murphy -Brown LLC
PO Box 856
Warsaw, NC 28398
Subject: NOTICE OF VIOLATION/NOTICE OF INTENT
Administrative Code 15A NCAC 2T . 13 04
NOV-2020-DV-0402
2602-1 Facility No. 09-86, Permit No. AWS090086
Incident number 202002543
Bladen County
Dear Murphy -Brown, LLC.:
On August 20, 2020 staff of the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR), Water Quality Regional
Operations Section (WQROS), received a phone call with regard to a discharge at the farm listed above.
On August 20, 21 and 28, 2020, DWR staff inspected the site. Michael Norris of Murphy -Brown and
other staff were present, and we wish to thank them for their cooperation and assistance.
As a result of these inspections, you are hereby notified that, having been permitted to have a non -
discharge permit for the subject animal waste disposal system pursuant to 15A NCAC 2T .1304, you have
been found to be in violation of your permit as follows:
Violation 1
Failure to prevent discharge of waste to surface waters or wetlands by using a manmade conveyance.
N.C.G.S. 143-215.1OC - (Permit No. AWG200000 Section Conditions 11).
On August 20, 2020, the Fayetteville Water Quality Regional office staff received a phone call from Mr.
Mike Cudd stating that a recycle line had broken and waste water had flowed into a containment area. At
some point the waste water flowed out and into a ditch that leads off the farm property. Smithfield Land
Nutrient Management (LNM) staff pumped the waste from the containment area back to the lagoon, and
staff cleaned out the ditch close to the containment, but did not think the waste had left the farm site.
Smithfield was notified by a neighbor of the farm around 2:00pm that waste was in a ditch on his
property. Containment and recovery began as soon as possible after this notification. Waste water was
�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Fayetteville Regional Office 1225 Green Street, Suite 714 1 Fayetteville, North Carolina 28301
NOR7H ORROLINA i
NW-1 m EnNromi W QM /*3' 910.433.3300

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Murphy -Brown, LLC.
September 2, 2020
discovered by farm personnel past the ditch containment and into an unnamed tributary to Smith Mill
Pond Run that leads to South River.
On August 21, 2020, DWR staff documented that LNM staff had worked on recovery during the night
and were still working on recovery the next morning. DWR staff documented with pictures that there was
no visible waste in the unnamed tributary a few hundred yards passed the recovery containment area. The
recycle pipe that split was being replaced the morning of August 21, 2020, and an estimated discharge
volume was calculated to be between 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of waste discharged off the farm property.
On August 28, 2020, DWR staff documented that the pipe repair was completed and the recovery of
waste in the ditch was completed. In addition, the containment area was cleared of vegetation, sediment
removed and placed around the containment to repair the area that discharged the waste. A road was
constructed along the edge of the ditch in the pine plantation to allow LNM staff to easily check the ditch
in the future.
Required Corrective Action for Violation 1:
DWR would like to thank Smithfield LNM staff for the work completed at the spill site to help prevent
any accidental discharges and to make it easier for any LNM staff to determine if waste gets past the
waste collection system. DWR staff has documented that the repair has been made to the recycle pipe and
the containment area. If you have not done so already remind your Land Nutrient Management staff to
inspect all possible areas that could drain any waste that gets outside of the waste collection system.
Violation 2:
Failure of the Operator in Charge (OIC) or a person under the supervision of an OIC to inspect the land
application as often as necessary to ensure that the animal waste is land applied in accordance with the
CAWMP. In no case, shall the time between inspections be more than 120 minutes during the application
of waste. Inspection shall include but not be limited to visual observation of application equipment, spray
fields, subsurface drain outlets, ditches, and drainage ways for any discharge of waste. (Permit No.
AWG100000 Section II 17).
On August 20, 2020 your LNM staff responded to a call from this farms manager that they had a broken
recycle line that discharged waste to a secondary containment area. Your LNM staff responded and began
recovery of the waste back to the lagoon. The LNM staff observed that waste had bypassed the
containment area and entered a ditch. At two different times the LNM staff investigated the ditch next to
the containment area and failed to see that it had conveyed waste off of the farm property. It was not until
later in the day that your LNM staff was notified that waste was in a ditch on the neighbor's property.

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Murphy -Brown, LLC.
September 2, 2020
Required Corrective Action for Violation 2:
You stated in your response letter that the LNM staff that failed to make sure the ditch had not discharged
waste off the property have been disciplined according to Smithfield Policy. In addition, all LNM staff
will be retrained on checking secondary containments and ditches downstream during and after an
accidental discharge.
The Division of Water Quality would like to thank Mr. Michael Cudd for providing the items listed
below, received at the Fayetteville Regional Office on August 26, 2020. No additional information is
needed at this time.
1. An explanation from the OIC for this farm regarding how this violation occurred.
2. A list from the OIC concerning the steps that will betaken to prevent these violations from
occurring in the future.
3. Provide a copy of the press release and name of newspapers it was presented too.
As a result of the violations in this Notice, this office is considering a recommendation for a civil penalty
assessment to the Director of the Division. If you wish to present an explanation for the violations cited,
or if you believe there are other factors, which should be considered please send such information to me
in writing within ten (1 O) dqys followingreceipt eceipt of this letter. Your response will be reviewed, and, if an
enforcement action is still deemed appropriate, it will be forwarded to the Director and included for
consideration.
Failure to comply with conditions in a permit may result in a recommendation of enforcement action, to
the Director of the Division of Water Resources who may issue a civil penalty assessment of not more
that twenty-five thousand ($25,000) dollars against any "person" who violates or fails to act in accordance
with the terms, conditions, or requirements of a permit under authority of G.S. 143-215.6A.
If you have any questions concerning this Notice, please contact Steve Guyton or me at [phone]
Sincerely,
DocuSigneddn by, A __
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Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
cc: FRO Compliance Animal Files-Laserfiche
Smithfield Farms