000768 Smithfield Signs Historic Water Quality CompactJuly 31, 2000Raleigh, NC - Smithfield Foods, Inc. and its North Carolina-based swine production companies, including Murphy Farms, Inc., Brown's of Carolina, Inc., and Carroll's Foods, Inc., announced a watershed agreement with the state of North Carolina designed to enhance state water quality and ensure the economic viability of North Carolina's swine industry. “This agreement represents a classic example of industry and government working together to improve the economic and environmental well-being of generations to come,” said Richard J. M. Poulson, Vice President and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Smithfield Foods, Inc. The agreement was announced by Poulson and North Carolina Attorney General Mike Easley at a news conference in Raleigh attended by North Carolina Secretary of Environment & Natural Resources Bill Holman, Agriculture & Consumer Services Secretary James A. Graham, North Carolina State University Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and representatives of the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Southern Environmental Law Center. Also present were Robert F. Urell, Smithfield Foods Vice President, Engineering; Jerry Godwin, President of Murphy Farms and F. J. Faison, Jr., President of Carroll's Foods. The centerpiece of the agreement is Smithfield's commitment of $15 million to a North Carolina State University project to develop environmentally superior, economically feasible technologies for the management of swine waste. The project will be directed by Dr. C. M. Williams, Director of the NCSU Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, who also attended the news conference. “We have always been committed to working with knowledgeable state agencies and environmental organizations who have a demonstrated concern for responsible environmental progress,” said Poulson. “All of us share a concern for water quality and for the economic health of the swine industry. This program is a vivid example of what can be accomplished when responsible corporate citizens and state officials work together for the common good.” The companies also agreed to undertake a series of immediate measures to address concerns over the potential environmental impact of the current system. “We believe that the present state- authorized system of anaerobic lagoons and sprayfields is the best available technology for swine waste management,” said Poulson. “Nevertheless, all of us support the development of superior economically viable disposal technologies so that the swine industry, which is so vitally important to North Carolina's economy, can continue to prosper.” Under the agreement, the Smithfield companies will also take a leadership role in a series of long-term initiatives intended to protect and enhance water quality in North Carolina. These include a commitment of $1 per North Carolina hog, up to a cap of $2 million per year, for 25 years to a fund used to obtain environmental easements, construct or maintain wetlands and similar endeavors. The fund will be administered by the North Carolina Attorney General. The Smithfield companies anticipate producing 7 million hogs in North Carolina this year. “These initiatives by the Company and its North Carolina pork production subsidiaries to identify and preserve large areas of wetlands and natural areas in eastern North Carolina is further evidence of the Company's commitment to responsible environmental stewardship,” said Poulson.
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