The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), along with other members of the Meat and Poultry Products (MPP) Industry coalition, submitted extensive comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed effluent permitting guidelines for meatpacking plants under the Clean Water Act. If adopted, the new rule would apply to many of the nation’s 5,000 meat and poultry plants, requiring them to upgrade facilities and install costly wastewater treatment technologies.
The coalition asked EPA to provide additional information, including studies, to confirm the various bases for its effluent proposal, correct errors in the rule, and narrow the regulation to cover only facilities that directly discharge to waterways (the proposed rule also covers “indirect” dischargers) — or withdraw and issue a new rule by updating 2004 effluent guidelines that include technology-based standards applicable to direct discharging facilities.
NPPC’s take:
The coalition objected to EPA’s rulemaking process, which did not provide the meat and poultry industry with sufficient time to evaluate critical information and provide meaningful public comments on the proposed rule. The agency also did not disclose for review hundreds of pages of detailed analyses and more than 600 other supporting documents until after the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register.
The MPP coalition said EPA’s economic impact and environmental analyses on the proposed rule “suffered from a number of deficiencies,” including underestimating the compliance costs and job losses. EPA estimated that its preferred approach would “only” result in 16 processing plants being closed. However, based on extensive new records EPA released one day before comments were due, the coalition estimates the proposal would cost nearly $1.2 billion per year, result in at least 74 meat processing plants closing, and lead to the direct loss of 31,500-78,500 jobs and up to 316,000 total jobs lost across the economy. These impacts will fall disproportionally on small and medium packers and processors.
Why it matters:
While the agricultural industry and the meat and poultry processing sector support efforts to protect waterways, regulations must not place costly, undue burdens on the regulated community. Pork producers need a stable and reliable marketplace for their animals. EPA’s proposal will significantly disrupt packing capacity and inflict additional severe financial harm on producers, potentially leading to further industry concentration and the loss of independent producers.
Coalition Weighs in on Proposed Effluent Guidelines for Meat Packers
EPA’s proposed effluent permitting guidelines for meatpacking plants under the Clean Water Act will significantly disrupt packing capacity and inflict additional severe financial harm on producers, NPPC says.
(USDA FSIS)
