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12/17/2025
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtga.us
December 17, 2025 121 pm EST
CrimeBox
Clean Water Act Conviction Fiscal Year 2015; Case ID# CR_2692 (N. Carolina)
NC Dept of Ag Director sentenced to home detention, found responsible for dairy manure spill contaminating drinking water source for a million people
This case involves a Principal Defendant, one of the largest dairy farms in North Carolina, along with the owner of the dairy, a Town Councillor and Director for NC Department of Agriculture. The defendants are like anyone else, responsible for compliance with state and federal environmental laws protecting the public drinking water sources. In this case, the defendants were convicted of a single felony violation of the Clean Water Act, for a major spill of dairy cow manure impacting the French Broad River, the primary drinking water supply for a million people.
"Agriculture is an important sector of Western North Carolina's economy but it should not thrive at the expense of public health. Environmental protection laws are in place to ensure appropriate land use and safeguard our communities from potentially harmful pollutants."
Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina
The defendant dairy farm near Fletcher, NC kept hundreds of milk cows on a property with hundreds of acres of field crops under management. The co-defendant was responsible for oversight of the dairy farm, including the handling and disposal of tons of liquid and solid waste generated daily. That's thousands of tons, millions of pounds of waste to be managed every year.
Manure is a contaminant, regulated under Clean Water Act for the protection of US drinking water sources. Published in the journal, Science of the Total Environment, 269 million Americans relied on public drinking water systems as of 2022. Public drinking water supplies draw raw water from surface sources: rivers and lakes, and groundwater aquifers, all vulnerable to contamination, whether intentional or accidental. Industries, companies and individuals handling contaminants have a responsibility to properly dispose of contaminant materials. The EPA Criminal Investigation Division enforces the CWA laws protecting public drinking water supplies. This case, demonstrates that even elected officials and law makers themselves will be held accountable when water is contaminated.
According to court records, the defendant had been repeatedly notified about the lapse of his certification as the Operator in Charge (OIC) of the farm's extensive waste management system, and urged to renew. A bill of criminal information presented to the Federal District Court showed the farm did not have a certified OIC at the time of the manure spill, December 4, 2012. Further, the court learned that manure containment lagoons had not been checked for three months prior to the overflow that sent an estimated 11,000 gallons of liquid and solid waste into French Broad River. When the NC Dept of Environment sampled at the entry point of the contamination stream, fecal coliform was 99,000 parts per million. Downstream of the spill site, even with the dilution effect of the river, the fecal count was still well above the safe threshold at 2,200 ppm.
"As one of North Carolina’s largest dairies, [Defendant] Dairy Farm has an obligation to protect the surrounding community from pollution."
Maureen O'Mara, Special Agent in Charge, EPA Criminal Investigation Division in NC
The defendants plead guilty to the charge. Sentencing involved federal fines for each defendant: $80,000 to the farm and $15,000 to the owner. Each defendant was sentenced to a period of four years probation, with the Councillor detained in home confinement for six months. The farm was required to complete a comprehensive environmental compliance plan.
According to the court brief, the French Broad River supplies drinking water to more than one million people, frequently used for swimming and kayaking. In 2012, North Carolina listed the section of French Broad River near the defendants as "impaired" for fecal coliform bacteria.
Federal Fine: $95,000; Probation: 96 months, including 6 months home detention; Environmental Compliance Plan
The investigation of this case was conducted by special agents of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, and SBI Diversion and Environmental Crimes Unit. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Steven R. Kaufman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, NC.
See last CWA Crimebox, "Side-hustling septic hauler imprisoned for illegal discharges to Fort Lauderdale public sanitary sewer system", here.
CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
"The Clean Water Act is a federal law enacted to prevent, reduce and eliminate pollution, and to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological quality, of the Nation's waters for the protection and propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife, for recreational purposes, and for the use of such waters for public drinking water, agricultural, and industrial purposes." From EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online
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