Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/18/17

North Carolina officials are monitoring swine-waste lagoons that were overrun or threatened by floodwaters after then-Hurricane Florence dumped more than 30 inches of rain on parts of the state — and as rivers there continue to overflow. Environmental and public health groups have warned that bacteria-filled waste from flooded lagoons could contaminate water supplies, though local pork groups argue the safety risks are overstated.

Latest lagoon watch: One waste lagoon in Duplin County had been breached as of Monday afternoon, Michael Regan, secretary of the state's Department of Environmental Quality, said during a news conference with Gov. Roy Cooper.
Regan said he's received reports of two flooded waste lagoons in Jones County and five "overtops" — when lagoon matter spills over the side. "Reports are continuing to come in," he said, and the department will send out staff to investigate the incidents when conditions are safe.

Pork industry reaction: The North Carolina Pork Council said four lagoons had been flooded and that the one breach Regan mentioned was "on a small farm ... where an on-site inspection showed that solids remained in the lagoon."

"While there are more than 3,000 active lagoons in the state that have been unaffected by the storm, we remain concerned about the potential impact of these record-shattering floods," the group said in a statement.

Environmentalists were also working to survey the damage. The group Waterkeeper Alliance said its members were using airplanes and kayaks to scan the floodwaters for any lagoons that were breached or inundated, as well as other sites like coal-powered plants that could cause environmental problems.

The storm has also taken a toll on North Carolina's poultry industry. Sanderson Farms said Monday that about 1.7 million chickens had been killed by flooding at contractor farms in the state, and another 30 farms — housing a combined 6.3 million birds — were surrounded by floodwaters and couldn't be reached by feed trucks.

Looking ahead: Hog producers in North Carolina are generally much better prepared for major storms than they were two decades ago, when Hurricane Floyd wiped out 21,500 swine and flooded 50 waste lagoons, according to NCPC stats. But pig farms still remain in the state's floodplains, and further changes to increase storm readiness — like covered lagoons — could be part of the larger debate in the state.

"We are going to have to be smart about our recovery and about our long-range planning," Cooper said Monday, referring to the state in general. "When you have two 500-year floods within two years of each other, it's pretty clear that it's not a 500-year flood."

He also said "significant federal resources" will be needed in the storm's aftermath. Watch for Congress to potentially take up a disaster relief spending package in the weeks or months ahead, like lawmakers did last year after a series of hurricanes.

"This is an epic storm that is still continuing," Cooper said. "The rivers are rising in certain parts of our state. Some areas have not seen the worst flooding yet."