Ag spill makes another mess in Clinton
Dec. 7—An agriculture spill left another mess in Clinton as the issue again reared its ugly and smelly head on Tuesday night — this time on N.C. 24.
Around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Clinton Police officers responded to reports of an agriculture protein spill in the eastbound lane of N.C. 24 near the Clinton city limits. After arriving on scene, officers discovered a semi-truck parked on the shoulder of the road and an apparent agriculture spill consisting of animal byproducts.
According to Clinton Police Chief Anthony Davis, the investigation revealed that a semi-truck operated by Rony's Trucking LLC, contracted by Darling Ingredients, "braked suddenly ... causing contents to spill over the side of the dump bed onto the roadway."
While investigating the incident, it was discovered that the driver, Jackson Cordero-Flores, 42, attempted to clean the byproducts off the roadway and had tossed some of the remains over the guardrail into the brush located on the right side of the roadway.
A N.C. Department of Transportation representative arrived on the scene to assess the roadway and had SOLES Automotive respond to clean up the spill. Clinton fire and police personnel assisted with the road closure and traffic control until the cleanup was completed, authorities said.
Cordero-Flores was charged with failing to secure load and littering.
A report has been sent to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for follow up.
Darling Ingredients, formerly Valley Protein, has been involved in 12 animal byproduct spills within the City of Clinton the past two years, Davis said Wednesday.
"These incidents continue to be an inconvenience to the motoring public and a drain on city resources that have to direct traffic for hours until the roadway is cleaned up," Davis stated. "The frequency of these incidents continues to cause a public nuisance for our community and those that travel our roadways. Enforcement action will continue to be taken against those that spill these hazardous materials on our roadways, our citizens deserve better."
Amid a rash of the spills this past summer, Davis noted that there had been more than 20 spills in the previous three years.
These types of spills are smelly and potentially dangerous, he stressed. Rain will make the animal proteins slick, which could cause accidents. They're also very difficult to remove. A degreaser must be used as well as a vacuum truck to ensure none of the materials go down the storm drains.
