Public records dispute leads to court complaint in Warsaw

WARSAW — After months of unanswered public records requests, Jessica Thomas, environmental justice chair for the Duplin County NAACP, has filed a complaint in Duplin County Superior Court seeking the release of public records from the Town of Warsaw.

According to the complaint, Thomas submitted a public records request to Town Manager Crystal Lea Turner on Oct. 20, 2025 seeking communications between town officials, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Villari Foods, C2NC, and state and federal representatives regarding the town’s wastewater treatment system, environmental compliance and related issues.

Thomas told Duplin Journal she hoped the information would clarify efforts to secure funding and address the town’s aging infrastructure.

“I wanted to understand what was going on with the wastewater treatment plant and whether the town had been communicating with state and federal officials about funding or solutions,” Thomas said.

Thomas alleges the town failed to provide the requested records as required under the North Carolina Public Records Act despite multiple follow-ups over four months. The complaint asks a judge to order the town of Warsaw and Turner to produce the requested records and to review any withheld records to determine if exemptions under the law apply.

Thomas also seeks reimbursement of $266 she spent filing the complaint. She said she filed the complaint after attending a Feb. 9 town board meeting and publicly urging the release of records that had still not been provided after four months.

“I requested public records months ago, and I still haven’t received everything. That’s why I filed a complaint in superior court — to get the information I’m legally entitled to and have my costs reimbursed,” said Thomas. “If she did her job in the first place, we wouldn’t be here.”

The request comes amid ongoing concerns about Warsaw’s wastewater infrastructure and environmental impacts in the area.

The records request comes amid concerns about Warsaw’s wastewater system after millions of gallons of “partially” treated wastewater were discharged into Stewarts Creek in August 2025 when the town’s treatment plant became unstable as sludge production surged far beyond normal levels, forcing operators to shut down portions of the treatment process and discharge wastewater into the creek during a system restart. The spill was reported to state regulators, but the public was not notified until several days later through a notice posted on the town’s website. Stewarts Creek flows into Six Runs Creek and eventually the Black River, which is part of the Cape Fear River watershed.

“The wastewater treatment plant is in an area of Warsaw that has the most minorities. It’s behind an elementary school, a church, and a rest home. There are complaints that people can smell it, and that creek flows through the rest of Duplin County until it dumps into the Black River,” said Thomas.

“If the town manager needs help contacting elected officials, I feel like that would be a good way for Duplin County to step in, because we have contacts with our representatives, senators, and congressmen.”

Town officials contacted her after the complaint was filed and provided access to records electronically, said Thomas, though she reported difficulty accessing the files. Thomas said the town later provided a flash drive containing 69 pages of documents, though 22 of those pages were blank.

According to Turner, she responded to Thomas with the requested information, but the email was not received. 

“The requested information was very extensive and with regular daily operations this was not a request that could be completed in a short time frame,” said Turner. She noted the town does not have staff dedicated solely to public records requests and that responses must be completed alongside regular daily operations. 

“The response times are based on workloads and priority. Voluminous requests such as these often take weeks and sometimes months, considering the lack of resources and staff in a small town,” she added.

The case remains pending in Duplin County Superior Court.