Kristen Johnson|The Fayetteville Observer
Farmers in Sampson and Duplin counties have spoken out to share their support for what they believe to be an important opportunity for farmers in North Carolina.
TheAlign RNG project, or the renewable natural gas project,isa partnership between Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energythatwillbuild a 30-milepipelinebetween thetwocountiesto convert wasteinto methane gas.The end goal of the project is to power thousands of homeswith natural energyand to help farmers in the process.
So far, theproject has been met with staunch pushback from environmental activists, residents, and now 30 democratic lawmakers in the statewho say the powerhouse companies are not being transparent about the project’s potential harm and other details. But for farmers, this project means an opportunity to have a greener environment and another stream of income in an uncertain economythat has now been impacted by the pandemic.
“Who are the biggest environmentalists in this country? It’s the farmers. Why would we want to hurt the land that feeds us?” said Elwood Garner, a hog farmer inKenansville.“Why would I want to pollute something that I enjoy?”
Garner, the owner of E&J Farms, LLC,is one of the three farmers who spoke with the Fayetteville Observer about why the project matters.His farm is already in partnership with Smithfield Foods and isparticipatingin the Align RNG project. Garner said he doesn’t understand the controversy over a projectlike this that has a "goal" to help people, farmers and the environment.
More: Smithfield project that converts hog waste to energy angers, worries rural NC residents
“One thing that really struck me is that Smithfield is not forcing us to do this,” Garner said. “It’s strictly a business decision for everybody.It’sjust like anybusinesswhether you’re in agriculture,in the media business, or whether you’re in car sales, you’ve got to look at your return on investment, and there’s a good return on investment on this project.”
Farmers who participate in the Align RNG project willbe ableto invest inrenewable natural gas infrastructureon their own farms and reap the benefits of thelong-term revenuein partnership with Smithfield and Dominion, according to the Align RNG information page.
“A lot of people got into the business in the '80s and '90s, but it’s always been a steady source of income,” Garner said. “I can tell you about what I’ll make every year on livestock. With livestock, you’ve got money coming in all throughout the year.”
Garner’s father began hog farming in 1981when Garner was about 4, and his family has since been in the business of carryinghogsup to market weightand getting them ready for slaughtertolaterbeproduced by Smithfield Foods.His farm also raises chickens and grows corn, soybeansand wheat.
He doesn't believe farmers should be considered "evil people" for participating in the project.
"We're not here to ruin the environment," Garner said. "The stuff we eat and the clothes we wear just doesn't show up. Ittakes all kinds of people to make the world go 'round and function on a daily basis. We've got a bad rep right now."
In Newton Grove,Brandon Warren’s farmraises hogs and cows and growsabout 6,000 acres of row crops liketobacco, cornandsweet potatoes. He farms with hisbrother, uncle,fatherand cousin and is contracting for Smithfield Foods.
Warrensupports the Align RNG project and its efforts tobecome greener.
“We’re looking to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and capture that methane,” Warren said. “And we’re able to produce a renewable resource which will be a source of fuel, which at some point in the future will be used at a cheaper price to propane and give us another option to bemore green.”
More: Letter: Getting rid of hog farms is real goal of anti-biogas activists
Brandon Farms is not currently one of the participating farms in theproject, but he is hoping that itwill move into his area.
“If it’s available to me, I’d certainly sign up for it because I see it as an investment,” Warren said. “One way they can do it isbycovering existing lagoons.”
The lagoon and spray field system has been the source of significant controversy for decadesin North Carolina.Hog waste and feces are stored in a lagoon, mostly uncovered, and then sprayed onto crops as fertilizer. The spraying produces a pungent odor andlagoons can overflow when hurricanesor other stormsh*t the region.
The Align RNG project would not eliminate the use of open lagoons or the spray field system, which would not eliminate the public health impacts in the counties. Environmentalists continue to fight against this issue.
More: Smithfield Foods and Dominion’s biogas plan a foul deal for Duplin, Sampson counties
In 1999duringHurricane Floyd,open pits were floodedproducing a “pink sludge”and thousands of pigsdrowned. HurricaneFlorencein 2018hada similarimpact, bringingeight trillion gallons ofrainwater, flooding the Cape Fear River.
Warren said he closely monitors his lagoons to ensure they don’t overflow.Pumping the waste onto the fields and crops prevents this from happening.
“The average yearly rainfall in my area is 49 inches of rain, and we received on some of my farms, 82 inches of rain,” said Warren speaking on the weather changes of last year. “If this was in place, and my lagoon was covered and we were capturing themethane, that’s 82 inches of rain that would not go into my lagoon. So, I wouldn’t have to pump out that on the fields as fertilizer.”
Warren sees the opportunity to participate in the Align RNG project as another source of revenue.On his farm, he employs about 20-25 other workers, and COVID-19 has hada slightimpacton production.
“Times have been uncertain for a while now,” Warren said. “Another source of revenue would certainly stabilize things for a while.”
Chad Herring, the executive director of N.C. Farm Families, is a third-generation farmer. His family has raised pigs in Mount Olive since the mid-1960s, andhehasalways been an advocate for the industry.
“Farmers in North Carolina are good folks,” Herring said. “Sustainability for North Carolina’s farmers is a really important partof what we do today and there are several aspects of sustainability, but a large portion of it is protecting our natural resources.”
Herring said over the past 50 years, pig farmers have made reductions to environmental impacts.
“Today we use 76% less land, 25% less water, and we’ve reduced our energy use by about 7%,” Herring said. “Put that incomparison, the average American would have to take 90 fewer showers a year.”
For Herring, the Align RNG project is “misunderstood," and he thinkspeoplejust need to know more about it.
“Thefirstmisconception that I would bring outisthatthese modifications to thepermitsdo notincrease the number of permitted animals to these farms,” Herring said. “We’re just making the pork industry moreenvironmentallyfriendly and sustainable for future generations.Adding covereddigestors andcapturing methane gas and generating renewable gas is not a step backwards.”
Smithfield and Dominion havenot fully disclosed the details of the Align RNG project, includingthe list of allparticipatingfarms, where they are located, and where the pipeline will run to the public or even to the N.C Department of Environmental Quality(DEQ).
On Friday, 30 democratic lawmakers in the state urgedDEQ to deny the permits the Align RNG project needs to move forward, as first reported by NC Policy Watch.
The lawmakers’ letter expressed grievances aboutthe lack of transparency from Smithfield and Dominion on the public health impacts of the project and criticized the DEQ’s decision to grant the air permit despite the deep concerns from residentson the impact of industrial hog farms on their health.
DEQ opened a public comment period for people to ask questions about the project and this past week, more than 100 people attended the phone call. Many of them spoke out against the project and the unknown risks. Additional information about the project and public comments can be found on the DEQ's website.
Still, farmers like Herring, Warren and Garner believethe project to be safe, green, andhelpful tofarmers and families in thelong run.
They stand by their claims of being the biggest environmentalists with only the interests of helping the land they work and live on.
“Why do we want to hurt the water thatwe need to growcrops and water our animals? Why do we want to hurt the land that we live on?” Garner said. “That’swhat puts food on my table, clothes on my family, gas in my vehicle,that’s where my money comes from.So,why would I want to hurt a piece of ground or hurt the waters of the state?"
Staff writer Kristen Johnson can be reached at kjohnson1@gannett.com or 910-486-3570.
Support local journalism with a subscription to The Fayetteville Observer. Click the "subscribe" link at the top of this article.
