Community Rising

The cancellation of plans to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was announced on July 5, 2020 by utility companies Duke Energy and Dominion Energy. Today we examine the negative impacts it would have caused and ask activist Hope Taylor, director of Clean Water for North Carolina, why she fought so long to end its proposed construction. The 600-mile pipeline would have brought natural gas from West Virginia down through North Carolina and have adverse impacts on poor communities of color.
Produced by Kayla Guilliams. Music by Meydän.
Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series examines environmental news in the coastal Carolina region.

Lisa Rider is the Executive Director for Coastal Carolina Riverwatch (CCR), which serves Crystal Coast and White Oak River communities. Rider speaks to how COVID-19 is affecting their organization's signature environmental education programs. Amidst social distancing, new methods for educating communities about clean waterways are emerging.
Produced by Chris Moncrief. Music by Meydän.
Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series examines environmental news in the coastal Carolina region.

When it rains in coastal North Carolina stormwater pours off our plethora of parking lots into the neighborhoods, parks and eventually the Cape Fear River, and with the stream of water pollutants with it. Our increasing number of surfaces don’t allow the water to soak into the ground. Local groups are advancing public education which acknowledge the big public policy issues at play, but also offer solutions we can all take.

The episode features staff from Heal Our Waterways and the Cape Fear River Watch.
Here are ten things you can do about stormwater in Wilmington, North Carolina, New Hanover County, along with helpful links:

1. Install Rain Barrels: Collect rainwater from your roof to use in your garden.
   • New Hanover County Rain Barrel Program
2. Create a Rain Garden: Plant a garden designed to absorb rainwater runoff.
   • NC State Extension on Rain Gardens
3. Use Permeable Pavements: Replace impermeable surfaces with materials that allow water to seep through.
   • EPA on Permeable Pavement
4. Plant Native Vegetation: Native plants require less water and help reduce runoff.
   • NC Native Plant Society
5. Reduce Lawn Fertilizer Use: Excess fertilizer can wash into storm drains and pollute waterways.
   • NC State Extension on Fertilizer Management
6. Properly Dispose of Hazardous Waste: Prevent chemicals from entering storm drains.
   • New Hanover County Household Hazardous Waste Program
7. Clean Up Pet Waste: Pet waste left on the ground can wash into storm drains.
   • EPA on Pet Waste Management
8. Install Green Roofs: A green roof can absorb rainwater and reduce runoff.
   • NC State Extension on Green Roofs
9. Participate in Community Clean-Ups: Join efforts to clean local waterways and reduce pollution.
   • Cape Fear River Watch
10. Educate Your Community: Raise awareness about stormwater management practices.
    • NC Coastal Federation

Implementing these actions can help manage stormwater and protect the environment in Wilmington and New Hanover County.

Hosted & Produced by Akshay Gokul

“We were just sitting on the porch like normal on a beautiful Saturday. And then we heard this tractor, and then all of a sudden this animal waste was coming everywhere and it was stinking like nothing we had ever experienced,” says Elsie Herring of Wallace, North Carolina.

Herring is one of many eastern North Carolinians who have had negative health impacts and financial burdens as a result of nearby concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) over the last several decades. In this episode of CAFO’s & Communities, we explore how the hog industry’s hazardous waste redistribution has harmed neighboring communities and what they’re doing about it.

Produced by Dedan Waciuri, Kayla Guilliams, and Laura Bratton in collaboration with Sherri White-Williamson, Elsie Herring, Jeff Currie, Larry Baldwin, and Naeema Muhammad. Special thanks to Larry Baldwin of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch.

To learn more and get involved, visit North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, North Carolina Conservation Network, and Coastal Carolina Riverwatch‘s websites.

Music: Pure Water by Medyn, Thoughts by ANBR, Aquarius by Spearfisher. Sounds by Badlands Sound via Artist and YouTube Audio Library. Photos by Laura Bratton. Bottom right photo by Jeremy Lange, taken from ProPublica.

References:

Environmental Working Group, “EXPOSING FIELDS OF FILTH: Locations of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in North Caroling by County,” EWG and Waterkeeper Alliance,
https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2016_north_carolina_animal_feeding_operations_bycounty.php.

Kravchenko, J., “The Coming Storm 2019: Hog CAFOs, Human Health & Hurricanes in N.C,” Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment (2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHf22c_uwzc.

Kravchenko et al., “Mortality and Health Outcomes in North Carolina Communities Located in Close Proximity to Hog Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” North Carolina MedicalJournal, 79 (5):278-288 (2018).

Marks, R., “CESSPOOLS OF SHAME: How Factory Farm Lagoons and Sprayfields ThreatenEnvironmental and Public Health,” Natural Resources Defense Council and the Clean WaterNetwork (2001).

Schiffman et al., “Potential Health Effects of Odor From Animal Operations, WastewaterTreatment, and Recycling of Byproducts,” Journal of Agromedicine, 7(1): 7-81 (2000); PolicyStatement Adopted by the House of Delegates, North Carolina Council of Churches (2000).

Sobsey, M., McBride Health Conference, UNC Chapel Hill (1990), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoTcCooC7AE.

Thu, et al., “A Control Study of the Physical and Mental Health of Residents Living Near aLarge-Scale Swine Operation,” Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 3(1): 13-26 (1997).

Wing, S., “Community Health Impacts of Factory Farms,” TEDxTalks Manhattan (2013),https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZW8-LQftnY.

Low-income communities of color are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues in NC, and face higher rates of disease because of it. When COVID-19 hit, Sherri White-Williamson, the Environmental Justice Policy Director at NC Conservation Network, says it became clear that these were the communities that were going to be unduly vulnerable to the virus. In this episode, White-Williamson discusses why environmental justice communities are so at-risk and what policymakers should do about it.