EPA is killing a Biden-era plan to reduce wastewater discharges from meat and poultry processing plants, citing impacts of facility closures to the nation’s meat supply and attendant job losses as reasons for retaining the regulatory status quo.
“The EPA’s withdrawal reduces future compliance costs for this vital American industry and helps support affordable food prices and cost of living,” according to a summary posted online.
The decision “is supported by public comments and advances the goals of President Donald Trump’s executive actions on defeating the cost-of-living crisis and unleashing prosperity through deregulation,” the summary said.
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EPA’S January 2024 proposal estimated that 16 facilities would close if EPA adopted the preferred alternative in its proposal. In the final action document signed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday, the agency said, “The closure or reduced capacity of [meat and poultry processing] facilities, even if within the range of impacts typically considered to be economically achievable, could have significant impacts on the nation’s food supply and pricing, as was evidenced during the COVID-19 national emergency.”
The final decision said that EPA’s analysis of regulatory options “shows that the no-rule option avoids the closure of between 10 and 93 facilities.” The closures, it said, “would be associated with the short-term loss of 3,199 to 26,657 American jobs.”
“Additional regulation may also divert the industry’s attention from focusing on measures to diversify, increase production and thus food availability and affordability, and combating avian flu and [New World screwworm], all of which are crucial to protecting the nation’s food supply, mitigating higher prices and reducing the cost of living for the American public” the decision says.
The meat sector cheered the decision.
“The National Pork Producers Council applauds the Trump administration and EPA Administrator Zeldin for taking a common-sense approach” on the regulations, said Duane Stateler, National Pork Producers Council president and a pork producer from McComb, Ohio.
In a news release, NPPC said the decision “closes the book on a nearly two-year comment and consideration process in which [NPPC] and other stakeholders have worked with EPA to better inform the agency’s decision and preempt unnecessary harm.
“The more-stringent permitting guidelines under CWA would have packed a significant punch for meat processors, requiring them to upgrade facilities and install costly new wastewater treatment technologies, impacting meat and poultry packing and processing plants nationwide,” NPPC said.
Environmental groups that sued to force the agency to address discharges from meat and poultry plants said the preferred option in the proposal would have only reduced nitrogen discharges by 10% and phosphorus by 37%. The most stringent option would have cut nitrogen by 83% and phosphorus by 94%.
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