A new report ranks the Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers in the top 10 most endangered rivers in America.
It’s the third time the Neuse River has been on the list in the past two decades. Both river basins have endured two 500-year floods from hurricanes in less than 20 years, during which dozens of animal waste lagoons were flooded or breached, discharging millions of gallons of waste directly into the rivers.
In the report by Washington D.C. based American Rivers calls on the North Carolina General Assembly to include funding in the Hurricane Matthew recovery bill under consideration to reinstate the Floodplain Buyout Program which would move existing swine and poultry feeding operations out of floodplains. Jared Brumbaugh speaks with North Carolina Conservation Director for American Rivers Peter Raabe.