WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces that it will not impose any additional wastewater discharge regulations on poultry, meat processing, and rendering facilities, a move that is being touted by the industries as one that will save some facilities from closure.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made this recent announcement during a stop at Christensen Farms, a Minnesota pork producer.
“For the past four years, people in this country experienced the worst inflation in nearly five decades,” Zeldin said. “EPA is saving billions of dollars in costs the American people would otherwise see in the prices of the meat and poultry they buy at the grocery store while ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.”
In January 2024, the agency published its proposed regulations to revise the Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) and pretreatment standards for the poultry and meat processing and rendering industries. After reviewing the concerns received in proposal comments, EPA notes that it reached a decision to not to move forward with additional ELGs and maintain the current Clean Water Act requirements that are in place.
“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,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. “By rejecting this costly and burdensome rule proposal by the previous administration, the Trump Administration is ensuring that small and mid-sized meat and poultry facilities can keep their doors open, continue feeding our communities, and support good-paying jobs across rural America. This action strengthens our food supply chain while respecting the hard work of producers who are the backbone of agriculture.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall added, “Farmers and ranchers rely on processors to help get meat and poultry to America’s dinner tables in a way that protects our natural resources. Heavy-handed regulations that would have created serious obstacles in processing would ultimately hurt the farmers raising the meat and poultry we enjoy.”
This late August announcement from the EPA has received approval from poultry, meat and rendering industry representative organizations, which also noted that the regulations could have resulted in the loss of facilities and jobs.
“NCC appreciates EPA’s common-sense approach in regulating water quality and for recognizing that industry is already regulated under the 2004 ELGs, as well as state agencies,” Dr. Ashley Peterson, the National Chicken Council’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, said in a statement. “EPA, under the Biden administration, did not provide adequate time to allow for meaningful public comment on the proposed rule which, if it was finalized, would have resulted in numerous facility closures, major job closures nationwide, and higher production costs — all of which are contrary to the goals of the Trump administration. We’re grateful that the agency is taking no further action on the ELG rule and remain committed to doing our part to keep our nation’s water supply safe.”
NCC also added that EPA conducted a comprehensive review of the current federal effluent limitations on the poultry, rendering and meat processing industries to determine if more regulations were needed and if the current standards are sufficiently protective.
“The agency has considered several options with costs for both large and small operations as high as $20 billion in the coming years and facility closures ranging from 74 to 340 across the nation, along with direct job losses ranging from 31,000 to 93,000, based on the industry’s engineering and economic analysis,” NCC noted.
“We appreciate the EPA’s acknowledgement of our industry’s dedication to properly treat wastewater coming from our plants to a very high standard,” Nath Morris, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association president, said. “The EPA’s final decision signals the agency’s commitment to transparently and thoroughly evaluating regulations for the processing community.”
“EPA’s determination on the effluent guidelines rule that shows that current regulatory arrangements that have been built for years under the Clean Water Act are working for turkey processors, the environment, for the local communities we’ve invested in and for American consumers,” Leslee Oden, National Turkey Federation, president and CEO, said. “Avoiding this unjustified weight allows us to continue to work with our local municipal utilities and do the right things to meet our environmental demands and ultimately ensure we keep our nation’s food supply robust and healthy.”
Julie Anna Potts, Meat Institute president and CEO, also noted that, “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. We are grateful for the swift action of the Trump administration to put the consumer first and eliminate burdensome regulations that destroy jobs.”
Speaking for the rendering industry, Kent Swisher, North American Renderers Association president and CEO, said, “NARA welcomes EPA’s decision not to impose additional wastewater discharge regulations on meat and poultry processing facilities, recognizing the industry longstanding investments in sustainability and science-based treatment while avoiding unnecessary costs that would not deliver additional environmental benefits. EPA’s decision shows sustainability and smart regulations can go hand in hand.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic made clear the need for additional livestock processing capacity across the country,” Buck Wehrbein, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president, said. “NCBA appreciates continued efforts by the administration, including EPA, to support small and regional meat processors. Costly and resource-intensive regulatory standards limit the ability of small meat processors to remain in business. We appreciate EPA’s decision to maintain existing Clean Water Act standards.”
