swine manure into the Neuse River and kill 10 million fish ?
RESPONSE: NO. The rupture of the lagoon dam at Oceanview Farms, Onslow County, North Carolina released 22 million gallons of biologically treated lagoon liquid and biosolids into the New River Basin (not to be confused with the Neuse River Basin) in June 1995 after a month of heavy rainfall determined statistically to have the equivalent of a 500-year return period. Unlike the regulatory allowances for wastewater management from rainfall events greater than a 25-year, 24-hour storm, no such allowances exist for periods of chronic heavy rainfall. An unauthorized alteration to the dam and an incomplete land application system were probable contributors to the failure. Intensive investigation by teams of experts verified that the maximum capacity of the designed and constructed lagoon was 22 million gallons. Of this total capacity, approximately 21 million gallons were lagoon liquid with 10% of the BOD load and 30% of the nitrogen load of the raw untreated manure. The remaining 1 million
