The Rap Sheet on WH Group’s Smithfield Hog Operations in Northern Missouri Introduction Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are known to pose a serious threat to the environment, public health, and socioeconomic conditions in surrounding communities. In Missouri, Smithfield CAFOs are among the worst actors. Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) conducted an extensive analysis of public records in northern Missouri, revealing Smithfield operations’ abject failure to comply with state regulations, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR’s) failure to enforce these rules. This report is based on SRAP’s analysis of public records obtained from Missouri DNR’s Northeast Regional Office (NERO), which include Smithfield’s swine operations in Mercer, Putnam, and Sullivan counties, along with some (but not all) of its facilities in Daviess, Gentry, Grundy, and Worth counties. Note that this analysis does not include the dozens of unreported spills documented in Premium Standard Farms Unreported Spills 1996-1997. Rap Sheet Overview SRAP’s research uncovered three decades of public records that establish Smithfield’s northern Missouri CAFOs as chronic and habitual polluters. Unfortunately, the DNR’s ineffective compliance and enforcement response over the past 30 years has not corrected the facilities’ ongoing pattern of pollution. SRAP’s analysis of public records from NERO reveal the following about Smithfield facilities in northern Missouri: • Total spills: 543 • Number of times DNR failed to respond to a spill onsite: 250 (46%) • Number of times DNR did respond to a spill onsite since 2010: 10 • Notice of Violations (NOVs) issued by DNR: 30 (0.06% of total spills) • NOVs issued by DNR since 2004: 1 • Reported spills with “unknown” estimated volume: 95 (17%) • Total gallons spilled: millions/unKnown Since their construction, these corporate swine facilities, now operated by Smithfield (which is owned by WH Group), have created an unprecedented record of spills, fish kills, regulatory violations, and other compliance problems. Spill Impacts Spills from Smithfield facilities polluted a wide range of waterways, private properties, public roads, and other areas, including: • Waterways: tributaries, streams, creeks, ponds and lakes; stormwater diversions; drainageways; grassed waterways; • Neighboring Properties; • Public Roadways: public roads, road culverts, and public road right-of-ways; • Sensitive Areas: saturated ground and severe slopes; • Cropland: crop fields and hay fields. Spill Causes Smithfield’s spills resulted from gross operational mismanagement and infrastructure failures, including the following: • Faulty Manure Lagoons: overflowing lagoon, continuously seeping lagoon; • Waste Mismanagement: spraying waste onto neighboring property without permission or permit, overapplication and runoff of land-applied waste, spraying waste onto public roads and passing vehicles, spills causing fish kills; • Improper Handling of Dead Animals: splattering dead animal fluids onto passing vehicles, spills of putrefying dead animal fluids from mortality handling stations; • Emergency System Failure: emergency secondary containment failures, spills through emergency secondary containment; • Pipeline and Valve Failure: plugged underground and aboveground pipelines, pipelines plugged by dead pigs and trash, ruptured pipelines, leaking pipelines, leaking pipeline risers, broken pipeline risers, riser cap blew off, hole in pipeline riser cap, uncapped risers, failed pipeline clamps, broken attic pipelines, pipeline “unbeknownst” to the facility, failed to connect waste pipeline, hay crew cut an aboveground waste pipeline, hay crew cut through a pipeline riser, backhoe cut through waste pipelines, pipeline joint failures, leaking shutoff valves, valves left open in error, improperly closed valves, wrong hose connected to pump, gasket failure, pumphouse failures, failed float switch; • Defective Equipment: defective pivot waste sprayer, overturned waste sprayer, blown fuse on traveling waste sprayer, overturned waste tank wagons, malfunctions of the nitrification-denitrification system; • Barn Spills: barns flooded with waste; spills from barn exhaust fan vents, doors, and foundation sill plates. Other Operational Problems: • Construction Issues: construction without proper permits, fraudulent construction; • Regulatory Noncompliance: failure to report spills to DNR, failure to submit complete discharge monitoring reports, failure to submit accurate discharge monitoring reports; • Permit Noncompliance: failure to secure required permits, failure to maintain setback distances; • Lagoon Problems: erosion, woody vegetation, trees and animal burrows in lagoon berms (walls) threatening the physical integrity of the lagoons; trash in lagoons; • Additional Concerns: barricaded and dragged waste pipelines across public roads; repeated feed spills; barn fires killing hogs and piglets; ceiling collapses, some of which crushed and electrocuted hogs; large dumping pits containing dead hogs, baby pigs, and trash; • DNR Regulatory Error: DNR admitted a “miscalculation” allowing 2-3 times more nitrogen being applied to land application fields. DNR Inaction After reviewing the DNR’s NERO PSF SPILL REPORT, it appears that throughout the 1990s until 2010, the DNR responded quickly to spills and diligently logged all pertinent spill details in the NERO database. However, beginning in 2011, the DNR started responding to fewer spills, and spill details in its database became much less comprehensive. For instance, a spill at Perkins #2 on November 15, 2014 reads simply “2500 to secondary.” According to DNR’s database, after 2015, the agency responded on-site to just three spills. Rap Sheet Methodology The Rap Sheet was compiled using publicly available files from state and federal agencies. Most records were retrieved via Sunshine Law Open Records Requests to the DNR’s Northeast Regional Office (NERO). The Rap Sheet on WH Group’s Smithfield Hog Operations in Northern Missouri Formerly: Murphy-Brown of Missouri, ContiGroup, Continental Grain, Premium Standard Farms Information compiled from the files of the State of Missouri – Department of Natural Resources, Department of Conservation, Office of the Attorney General, Missouri Supreme Court, Cole County Circuit Court, Jackson County Circuit Court, Putnam County Circuit Court, Sullivan County Circuit Court, and from the files of the United States – Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, District Court (St. Joseph Division). Some historical information excerpts are from Successful Farming Magazine (“How Smithfield Saved the Worst Hog Farm in America”) On or Site Est. Description About Gallons Spilled 05.07.91 Wiles unknown Agency records indicate a waste lagoon overflowed, no size estimate given, excess waste transferred to other lagoons 12.09.92 Peach ------------- Agency records indicate several large disposal pits containing dead hogs, baby pigs and trash were discovered by state investigators, an anonymous caller notified the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) 06.22.93 Somerset unknown Agency records indicate a spill from waste transport pipeline 09.08.93 Wade- unknown Notice of Violation (NOV) #13668: overapplication of Webster land applied wastes on severe slope and runoff to state waters 12.01.93 Mercer and ------------- NOV #1243 Sullivan NOV #1244 Counties NOV #1245: constructed and operated three concrete plants without permits 07.14.94 Somerset unknown Agency records indicate a citizen complaint, wastes from aerial sprayer unit sprayed onto county roads and vehicles 07.25.94 Somerset unknown Agency records indicate a second citizen complaint, wastes from aerial sprayer unit sprayed onto county roads and vehicles 07.26.94 Somerset unknown Agency records indicate a second party citizen complaint, wastes from aerial sprayer unit sprayed onto county roads and vehicles, DNR finally recommends moving unit 08.11.94 Somerset 9000 Agency records indicate an aerial waste sprayer unit overturned, spill into tributary of Little Medicine Creek and onto neighboring property 11.07.94 South unknown Agency records indicate operator error caused waste to Meadows #5 flood buildings, spill into farm pond 08.28.95 Valley View unknown/ NOV issued: agency records indicate a series of spills, 09.03.95 #7 20,000 emergency secondary containment failures and at 09.08.95 least three fish kills, plugged pipelines spilled waste into Mussel Fork Creek resulting in fish kills (at least 206,370 aquatic mortalities along 10.7 miles of stream), inspectors revealed fraudulent construction, failure to report spills as required 08.30.95 Green Hills 4000 NOV issued: agency records indicate overapplication and runoff of wastes into Spring Creek resulting in fish kill (at least 4,949 aquatic mortalities along .75 miles of stream), anonymous caller notified DNR 09.18.95 Whitetail #4 1600 Agency records indicate a broken cleanout riser results in spill on site 09.20.95 South 48,000 Agency records indicate a plugged pipeline flooded Meadows buildings with waste, spilled into facility lake 10.02.95 Green Hills #7 unknown Agency records indicate a discharge from waste pipeline 11.28.95 Wade- unknown Agency records indicate a waste pipeline separated, spill Webster #3 under pumphouse 12.26.95 Whitetail #5 35,000 NOV issued: agency records indicate a plugged pipeline, spill into North Blackbird Creek resulting in fish kill (at least 909 aquatic mortalities along 1 mile of