A massive discharge of roughly 230,000 gallons of wastewater has resulted in the death of thousands of fish in Charlotte’s Little Sugar Creek.
CharMeck Stormwater Services issued a press statement about the incident yesterday, saying:
“The waste discharge originated from Orbit Energy Charlotte, LLC located at 600 Johnson Road in Charlotte, NC. The discharge was caused by an operational failure at the facility resulting in a discharge of approximately 230,000 gallons of wastewater with the majority contained in basins located on site. The discharge was stopped upon discovery. An undetermined quantity overflowed the basin and entered Derita Branch and Little Sugar Creek. The discharge resulted in a fish kill in Derita Branch and a portion of Little Sugar Creek downstream of the confluence.”
An illegal discharge of wastewater led to a fish kill at the Derita Branch of Little Sugar Creek. @StormWaterCM is taking action to ensure the area is restored » https://t.co/cPYAZaEpdp pic.twitter.com/WE4mbYrBll
— Mecklenburg County (@MeckCounty) September 2, 2021
Orbit Energy produces electricity by liquefying food waste and turning it into methane to burn. The company had a similarly accidental wastewater discharge about 3 years ago and another smaller one about 2 weeks ago.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services has said they will take action to make sure the company “restores areas negatively impacted by the discharge” and that they put measures in place to prevent any future unplanned discharges.