Asheville, NC – Dairy Farm Owner Sentenced for Discharging Cow Feces
William "Billy" Franklin Johnston, the owner of Tap Root Dairy, LLC, has been sentenced to six months of home detention and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine for his role in discharging 11,000 gallons of cow feces into the French Broad River.
According to court documents, Tap Root Dairy, which is located in Fletcher, North Carolina, maintains several hundred cows and manages hundreds of acres of crop fields. In the annual course of its operations, the dairy farm disposes of millions of pounds of solid and liquid animal waste, which are considered pollutants under the Clean Water Act.
Court records show that beginning in 2009, Johnston let his certification lapse as Operator in Charge (OIC) of Tap Root’s animal waste management system. Despite receiving repeated warnings and notices, the dairy farm still had not designated a valid OIC to oversee its waste management system as of December 4, 2012.
As a result, from September 3, 2012 to December 4, 2012, for a total of 93 days, Johnston and the Tap Root employees failed to check and maintain the levels of cow waste in their on-site waste containment lagoons. This led to the spillover and discharge of 11,000 gallons of cow feces and other waste into the French Broad River on December 4, 2012.
Testing by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources found that the fecal coliform level where the waste stream meets the river was 99,000 parts per million, exceeding the safe threshold of 800 parts per million. Even downstream, testing found that the fecal coliform level was 2,200 parts per million.
U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose stated, "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."
The Tap Root Dairy, LLC, was also fined $80,000 and placed on a four-year probationary term. The company is required to abide by a comprehensive environmental compliance plan.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Environmental Violations
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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