Mayor chides spill culprits, touts new law; driver charged

Another agriculture byproduct spill covered a Clinton street with blood and guts, and prompted a strong condemnation from the city’s mayor, who chided what is becoming an all-too-familiar occurrence.

At 1:16 p.m. Friday, Clinton Police Department officers and Clinton Fire Department personnel responded to reports of an agriculture byproduct spill located near the intersection of West Elizabeth Street and Morisey Boulevard.

According to police officials, investigation revealed that James Kendall Ivey, 29, St. Pauls of Ivey’s Trucking, was heading east on West Elizabeth Street and made a right turn onto Morisey Boulevard, near Springvale Cemetery and Clinton Family Worship Center on Raiford Street.

On Tuesday, Ivey was charged with leaving the scene of an animal byproduct spill, failing to secure load and littering.

“When the driver braked to make the turn, contents spilled out of the top of the trailer due to an unsecure lid,” a Clinton Police Department press release stated. “The driver failed to stay on the scene.”

Ivey’s Trucking is an independent contractor for Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods was contacted and a cleanup crew was dispatched to the scene. City of Clinton Public Works personnel assisted with cones and signage to close the roadway. Police personnel assisted with traffic control until the cleanup was complete.

“It’s just deplorable and it is just awful,” said Clinton Mayor Lew Starling. “Thank goodness we were able to get that new law passed which allows them to at least pay for the cleanup and then we can charge these people when we find them. Of course they left the scene, as fate would have it, but the police now have the investigative tools and we’re going to be able to find out who did it, charge them and let them clean it up.”

Friday’s is yet another in a recurring string of messy events for Clinton agencies, who are forced to respond to the slimy incidents and then wait for hazmat crews to assist in the clean up.

There have been dozens of similar spills in Clinton in the last three years.

One year ago, Starling addressed the issue with state lawmakers, imploring the need for harsher penalties for offenders. Accompanied by Clinton Police Chief Anthony Davis and City Manager J.P. Duncan, the mayor presented photos from the dozens of spills that have occurred in and around Clinton recent years.

Concerns have long been expressed over drivers leaving the scene of the spills, the extended hours and personnel utilized and the inability to be compensated for the resources used during clean-ups. Local officials advocated for stiffer penalties for drivers that leave the scene of a spill and for some sort of restitution for towns or government entities expending resources to clean up spills.

State lawmakers heard that plea and subsequently passed an amendment to the North Carolina General Statute, noting that “a willful violation of this section shall be punished as a Class 3 misdemeanor, and the court may order restitution for the cost of removing the materials that were blown, scattered, thrown, spilled, or placed from the vehicle.” That amendment became effective in December.

“Even so, we may go back to the Legislature and might try to get the law a little tougher, because again, it’s just deplorable,” the mayor said. “It’s just a disgrace. It was right in front of our cemetery and they just drove off. It is the worst irresponsibility I’ve ever seen. It’s terrible, but we are on top of it and we will get it.”

The City Council also passed an ordinance just last month that included a schedule of fees for the Clinton Fire Department’s response to various incidents — the spills chief among them — that would be billed to insurance companies.

The city’s schedule of fees would serve to complement the punitive side, while also offering a way to recoup the cost of response.