In Role as Judge, Donald van der Vaart Rules on Behalf of DEQ, Hog Farms, and Against Environmental

In Role as Judge, Donald van der Vaart Rules on Behalf of DEQ, Hog Farms, and Against Environmental Groups


The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality was legally right to allow industrialized hog farms to install equipment on their waste lagoons—known as anaerobic digesters—to generate biogas, the state’s chief administrative law judge ruled today.

The judge: former DEQ Secretary Donald van der Vaart, appointed to the post by State Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby last July. Van der Vaart, known for his anti-regulatory stances, served as DEQ secretary under former Gov. Pat McCrory.

Two groups, the Environmental Justice Community Action Network and Cape Fear River Watch, had contested DEQ’s permitting of anaerobic digesters—essentially enormous tarps—on waste lagoons at four farms: The Goodson Farm and the Kilpatrick Farm in Sampson County; and the Benson Farm and Waters Farm in Duplin County.

The digesters capture methane, which is then sent via pipeline to the Align RNG facility in Turkey in Sampson County. From there, Align RNG—a partnership between Dominion and Smithfield Foods/Murphy-Brown—upgrades the biogas and injects it into a natural gas pipeline. Duke Energy uses the gas to generate electricity.

Read more: https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/in-role-as-judge-van-der-vaart-rules-in-favor-of-deq-hog-farms/