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Victory Over Animal Factory Pollution in Alabama

Case Updates:

August 19, 2006

The Sierra Club’s three year legal battle against the Whitaker Controlled Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) has come to a victorious end. On August 14, 2006 US Judge William Acker signed a “consent decree”, or court enforced settlement, which orders the Whitaker CAFO to take numerous measures to reduce harmful runoff, minimize odors, and invest in a host of new procedures, policies, and equipment to clean up their dirty operation. Mark Martin, an Alabama based attorney who represented the Club in this case, used data collected by Sierra Club Water Sentinels to prove that Whitaker was acting in clear violation of the Clean Water Act. Club volunteer Willard Jones and others found high levels of E.Coli and other harmful bacteria downstream from the CAFO; this marks the first time that Club volunteer data was used as evidence in a Clean Water Act case. As Mark stated, “The outcome of this case serves the dual function of showing CAFO’s that they are not above the rules and showing citizens how powerful their activism can be.”

August 1, 2003

The Sierra Club has joined with local Alabama residents on an upcoming suit against a massive hog factory farm causing hog waste pollution of local waters. The Club, which has been working with community members for several years on cleaning up animal factory pollution, has numerous water samples establishing pollution in local waterways from the hog facility.

Details and Documents:

AL CAFO Attorney Mark Martin: Sierra Club Legal Hero of the Month

Settlement Agreement