A federal appeals court denied a petition from environmental groups led by Food and Water Watch and the Center for Biological Diversity that sought stricter regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This ends a year-long legal effort to overhaul federal oversight of large livestock farms.
The environmental groups argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to narrow exemptions and require more CAFOs to obtain permits even without direct discharges.
The Ninth Circuit upheld EPA’s 2021 rejection of a 2017 petition that called for new permitting requirements and reinterpretation of exemptions for agricultural stormwater discharges, Meatingplace reports.
The court ruled the EPA’s decision was not “arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law.”
The court noted the EPA acknowledged the environmental concerns raised and has committed to further studying CAFO-related water pollution and updating effluent guidelines, rather than launching an immediate rulemaking process.
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) backed the EPA in court, saying that current rules are effective and that many CAFOs already meet zero-discharge standards or face stricter state-level regulations.
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