70 bodies of water added to list of North Carolina’s Impaired Waters

In March 2024, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality added 70 bodies of water to the proposed list of impaired waters for 2024. The list is updated every two years with a public comment period before being submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency. If we could stop pollution at its source, we could avoid adding more waterways to this list in the first place.

There are many different types of pollution which contribute to the impairment of waterways in North Carolina. Outdated sewer systems and septic tanks, chemical pollution from factories such as the now retired papermill in Canton, and slaughterhouses which are prevalent especially in eastern North Carolina, pollute our waterways.

Slaughterhouse wastewater pollutes waterways with high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Both of these pollutants contribute to dead zones in waterways and toxic algal blooms which severely disrupt ecosystems. North Carolina is no stranger to environmental issues arising from slaughterhouses. A 2014 report by Environment North Carolina Policy & Research Center found that in 2012, corporate agribusiness facilities including slaughterhouses were responsible for about one-third of all direct discharges of nitrates to waterways.

We’re pressing the EPA to finalize standards that would reduce slaughterhouse pollution, which could help keep waterways off of the list of impaired waters. Help us keep our waterways clean, and tell the EPA to stop slaughterhouse pollution.