murphy-brown
April 22, 2019 -
State regulators recently issued a new general permit for industrial hog farms, and it dashed the hopes of environmental advocates who say it represents a failure to address the unequal pollution burden borne by nonwhite communities. They're calling on the agency to take environmental justice into account in future permitting decisions.
May 4, 2018 -
The plaintiffs in the historic federal nuisance lawsuit against the hog industry's waste disposal practices in North Carolina could face complications in collecting the $50 million verdict because of an industry-promoted state law that limits punitive damages. Their attorneys are challenging the law's constitutionality.
April 19, 2017 -
As legislation to limit residents' ability to collect damages in civil lawsuits against factory farms makes its way through the N.C. General Assembly, a new mapping project offers a clearer picture of who would be affected by the controversial proposal.
April 7, 2017 -
GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation to drastically limit damages that agricultural operations pay in civil cases where they've been found to cause harm. The measure disadvantages the communities of color most likely to be located near the state's hog farms but would help a Chinese-owned pork producer currently facing dozens of such lawsuits.
March 9, 2016 -
Community advocates say settlement talks with North Carolina's environmental agency fell apart after state officials invited the hog industry into what were supposed to be confidential mediation proceedings in a federal case charging the state's regulation of the industry disproportionately harms communities of color.
March 14, 2014 -
Environmental groups have issued notice that they plan to sue a large North Carolina hog operation over illegal pollution. The company's president is a major political donor and the son of an influential former state lawmaker.
April 4, 2013 -
An effort to kill North Carolina's renewable energy law is meeting resistance from a politically powerful rural constituency.
