USDA Makes $5 Million Available for Hog Disposal

September 27, 1999

USDA has made $5 million available to fund the disposal of decaying hog and poultry carcasses contaminating water in North Carolina from Hurricane Floyd. Some 45,500 hogs, 2.2 million chickens and 283,000 turkeys drowned.

"Water contamination caused by decomposing livestock carcasses poses one of the most immediate threats to public health, and we will do all we can to help communities and farmers eliminate this hazard as quickly as possible," says Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service will use the funds to help dispose of the animals and work closely with the North Carolina state veterinarian to ensure that all disposal work is safe for human health and the environment. The funding is available from NRCS's Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program that helps communities recover from environmental damage caused by natural disasters.

Additional funding is available from EWP to help communities clear debris from waterways, restore damaged stream banks and bridges and repair other environmental damage that poses threats to life and property.

Hurricane Floyd recovery costs covered by the EWP are expected to exceed $80 million in North Carolina, based on NRCS estimates, Glickman says.