EPA Withdraws Proposed Rule to Further Limit Slaughterhouse Wastewater Effluent

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it is withdrawing a proposed rule that would have implemented stricter wastewater effluent standards for slaughterhouse facilities across the country, looking to curb what was viewed by some as excessive pollution of the nation’s waterways.

The agency noted that public comments on the proposed rule convinced it to cancel revised effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) or pretreatment standards for the meat and poultry industry — saying the revisions “would not be appropriate.”

The proposed rule — titled “Clean Water Act Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products Point Source Category” — was published in the Federal Register under the Biden Administration on Jan. 23, 2024. It included options for stricter effluent limits on total nitrogen, new effluent limits on total phosphorus, and updated limitations on other pollutants. Furthermore, the proposed rule considered effluent limitations on chlorides and the establishment of limits on E. coli for direct dischargers.

In the end, EPA decided that imposing additional regulations on the meat and poultry industry was not appropriate at this point, “given Administration priorities and policy concerns, including protecting food supply and mitigating inflationary prices.”

Meat and poultry industry associations celebrated the decision, saying the move will save facilities from closing and people from losing jobs.

“This important decision by Administrator Zeldin ends a regulatory disaster that would have forced meat processing facilities to close, causing food prices to go up and hardship for livestock and poultry producers,” said Julie Anna Potts, Meat Institute president and CEO.

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Assn. also praised the move, with the group’s president, Nath Morris, saying, “We appreciate the EPA’s acknowledgement of our industry’s dedication to properly treat wastewater coming from our plants to a very high standard. The EPA’s final decision signals the agency’s commitment to transparently and thoroughly evaluating regulations for the processing community.”

USDA secretary Brooke Rollins also expressed support for the withdrawal: “Today’s decision reflects a commonsense approach that protects America’s meat and poultry processors and the farmers and ranchers they serve from unnecessary red tape.”

Environmental groups, on the other hand, harshly criticized the decision, believing the pullback of these stricter regulations will not help the cause to keep waterways near those facilities clean and free of pollutants. Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, called the decision “gross neglect” that would degrade “the quality of life of Americans across the country,” in a statement cited by other media outlets.