Is Packing Plant Disruption Ahead? EPA Proposes New Effluent Limits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new permitting guidelines under the Clean Water Act for meatpacking plants would apply to many of the nation’s 5,000 meat and poultry plants. If adopted, it would require them to upgrade facilities and install costly new wastewater treatment technologies, impacting the operation of meat and poultry packing and processing plants nationwide, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) explained in Capital Update.
“The rulemaking stems from lawsuits filed by a coalition of environmental and animal rights activist groups in 2019 and 2022, including Earthjustice, Waterkeeper Alliance, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund,” NPPC wrote.
Michael Formica, NPPC’s chief legal strategist, criticized EPA at a public hearing last week for only holding two hearings and for providing insufficient time – less than 24 hours – to review the hundreds of pages of proposed regulations prior to the public hearing, the article said.
He also voiced concerns over the EPA’s lack of engagement with farmers who will be affected by the regulation and for economic estimates that are deficient and “don't adequately account for the harm that will be caused to farmers and the nation's agricultural sector,” NPPC wrote in Capital Update.
A second public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31 at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. EPA has provided 60 days for interested parties to submit comments. NPPC is seeking an extension of time on the comment period, as well as additional public hearings outside of Washington, D.C.
EPA’s Proposed Rule
The proposed rule contains three options, according to EPA’s website.
• For existing direct dischargers, EPA’s preferred option would establish more stringent effluent limitations for nitrogen and, for the first time, limitations for phosphorus. The preferred option would also establish, for the first time, pretreatment standards for oil and grease, total suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand. The preferred regulatory option would apply to approximately 850 of the 5,000 Meat and Poultry Products (MPP) facilities nationwide.
• The proposal contains two additional options on which EPA is requesting public comment. These options would apply effluent limitations to additional direct and indirect dischargers. The two additional options would also establish pretreatment standards for nitrogen and phosphorus for some of the indirect discharging facilities included in the preferred option.
• In addition to the three options, EPA is requesting comment on a provision that would require segregation and management of high-salt waste streams that are produced at some facilities, as well as the addition of E. coli bacteria as a regulated parameter for direct dischargers.
• EPA estimates that the proposed rule would reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from MPP facilities by approximately 100 million pounds per year.
The potential new regulations could result in direct costs in excess of $1 billion dollars on packers and processors, NPPC wrote. This would lead to even more costs downstream for pork producers who might once again face disruption in packing capacity.
“While the agricultural industry and the meat and poultry processing sector support clean water efforts, regulations must not place costly undue burden on the regulated community. At a time when producers are facing an unprecedented economic crisis, EPA’s proposal will significantly disrupt packing capacity and inflict additional financial harm on producers, potentially leading to further industry concentration and the loss of independent producers,” NPPC wrote.
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