{"id":41242,"date":"2024-01-22T12:47:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T17:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/?p=41242"},"modified":"2024-01-28T13:14:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T18:14:20","slug":"epa-proposes-to-exempt-most-slaughterhouses-from-updated-water-pollution-control-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/epa-proposes-to-exempt-most-slaughterhouses-from-updated-water-pollution-control-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA propone eximir a la mayor\u00eda de los mataderos de las normas actualizadas de control de la contaminaci\u00f3n del agua"},"content":{"rendered":"

Environmental Groups Urge EPA to Require Meat Processing Plants to Comply with Modern Technology Standards for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, January 22, 2024<\/p>\n

Wa<\/strong>shington, D.C. \u2013 <\/strong>The federal government tomorrow is scheduled to publish proposed EPA rules<\/a> that would require pollution reductions from fewer than half of the 3,879 slaughterhouses and meat processing plants that discharge waste to U.S. rivers, lakes, and streams.<\/p>\n

The regulations would cut pollution significantly from the largest plants that pipe their waste directly into waterways, but largely ignore the far more numerous meat processing plants that send their effluent first to municipal sewage treatment plants, which are often overwhelmed and not equipped to treat the industrial waste.<\/p>\n

Clean water organizations are responding by urging the agency to do more to crack down on slaughterhouses, which are the largest industrial source of phosphorus and nitrogen pollution (so-called \u201cnutrients\u201d) that feeds algal outbreaks and fish-killing \u201cdead zones\u201d in America\u2019s waterways. EPA plans to hold an online public hearing on its proposed rules<\/a> on Wednesday, January 24 and a hearing at agency headquarters on January 31.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is well past time for slaughterhouses to put in place modern pollution controls that EPA acknowledges are widely available,\u201d said Sarah Kula, Environmental Integrity Project attorney<\/strong>. \u201cEPA proposes significant reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus dischargers from big slaughterhouses that pipe their wastes into public waterways, and that is welcome news. But its preferred option would allow thousands of slaughterhouses to continue to dump nutrients into public sewage treatment plants that aren\u2019t prepared to handle them. All communities deserve relief from the slaughterhouse industry\u2019s harmful nutrient pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earthjustice attorney Alexis Andiman said: <\/strong>\u201cEPA admits that pollution from slaughterhouses and meat processing plants disproportionately harms under-resourced communities, low-income communities, and communities of color. We applaud EPA for taking action to strengthen the outdated and under-protective water pollution control standards that govern this industry\u2014but we urge the agency to ensure that its new standards protect the people most at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

A coalition of 13 environmental organizations sued the EPA in 2019 and 2022 demanding that the agency follow the requirements of the Clean Water Act and modernize badly outdated technology standards for water pollution control systems for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants, which have not been updated in two decades.<\/p>\n

In response to lawsuits, EPA released proposed rules<\/a> scheduled for publication in the Federal Register tomorrow that include three options for cleaning up wastewater from slaughterhouses. EPA\u2019s \u201cpreferred option\u201d would strengthen nitrogen pollution limits and, for the first time, limit phosphorus discharges from an estimated 126 facilities that directly discharge into waterways. The new standards, if adopted, would eliminate nine million pounds of nitrogen per year from these direct dischargers, as well as eight million pounds of phosphorus. The largest plants that would be covered by EPA\u2019s proposed rule are listed below. [Update<\/em>: EPA published the proposed slaughterhouse rule in the federal register<\/a> and populated the rulemaking docket<\/a>. Comments are due by Monday, March 25, 2024<\/b>.]\n

However, EPA\u2019s preferred option is the weakest of the three alternatives it has proposed because it would require no nutrient controls from the 3,708 slaughterhouses and meat processing plants that send their wastewater to municipal treatment facilities, which often lack the necessary technology to treat this pollution. Instead, EPA\u2019s preferred option would only control oil and grease, total suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand from about 719 of these indirect dischargers.\u00a0 These indirect dischargers have gotten a free pass for decades.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cMany municipal wastewater treatment plants cannot handle the slaughterhouse and rendering facility waste they receive, likely contributing to 73% of these treatment plants violating their clean water permit limits,\u201d said Kelly Hunter Foster, Waterkeeper Alliance Senior Attorney<\/strong>. \u201cEPA must establish pretreatment pollution limits for this industry rather than allowing it to either pollute waterways or pass their treatment expenses off to impacted communities and citizens that cannot, and should not, bear those costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are disappointed that EPA has chosen the least protective option, which is bad news for the Chesapeake region since we have far more indirect discharging slaughterhouses and rendering facilities than direct dischargers,” Robin Broder, Deputy Director of Waterkeepers Chesapeake<\/strong>, “In our region that is already suffering from nutrient pollution, the lack of limits on nitrogen and phosphorus for the majority of our plants is incredibly short sighted, especially given that the technology to do this exists.\u201d [See maps below.]\n

Fortunately, EPA\u2019s proposal includes a more protective alternative that would require over 40 percent of these indirect dischargers to remove nutrients from the wastes they dump into public sewer systems. EPA estimates that this option would eliminate another 67 million tons of nitrogen and 20 million tons of phosphorus every year.\u00a0 EPA has also publicly acknowledged that nutrient contamination is the most significant contributor to the contamination that keeps so many rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries from meeting the \u201cfishable and swimmable\u201d standards the Clean Water Act promised more than half a century ago.<\/p>\n

The coalition of groups is demanding that EPA do more and, at a minimum, adopt the most environmentally protective alternative among the three that EPA has proposed to keep slaughterhouse wastes from overwhelming public sewer systems.<\/p>\n

Background: <\/strong>The federal Clean Water Act requires the EPA to set water pollution standards for all industries and to review those standards each year to determine whether updates are appropriate to keep pace with advances in pollution-control technology.\u00a0 Despite this mandate, the EPA has failed to revise standards for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants for at least 19 years. Some slaughterhouses and rendering facilities are still subject to standards established in the mid-1970s. And the EPA has never published national standards applicable to the vast majority of slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities, which discharge polluted wastewater indirectly through publicly-owned treatment works.<\/p>\n

In response to this failure of EPA to update its standards, the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice sued the agency on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Waterkeeper Alliance, Humane Society of the United States, Food & Water Watch, Environment America, Comite Civico del Valle, Center for Biological Diversity, and Animal Legal Defense Fund.<\/p>\n

This coalition initially challenged the Trump Administration\u2019s decision not to update water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants in 2019.\u00a0 In response to that challenge, the EPA pledged to strengthen its regulations, but it did not commit to a timeline for doing so.\u00a0 The coalition then filed a second lawsuit in December 2022 to press the EPA to act promptly, resulting in an agreement that committed the EPA to propose new standards by December 2023 and publish final standards by August 2025.<\/p>\n

EPA is hosting public hearings<\/a> on the proposed rule, including an online-only hearing on January 24, 2024, and an in-person hearing at EPA Headquarters on January 31, 2024. \u00a0To provide comment during the January 24 virtual hearing, participants must register here<\/a> by 5 pm EST on January 22. To provide comment at the January 31 in-person hearing, participants are encouraged to register here<\/a> before 5pm EST on January 26<\/p>\n

Supporting materials for the rulemaking can be found at EPA’s docket at\u00a0regulations.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

QUOTES FROM ALLIED GROUPS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for Environment America<\/strong>, said: \u00a0“If the price of a slightly cheaper chicken nugget is dead fish, toxic algae or people getting sick from pollution, I think most Americans would say no thank you.\u00a0 The EPA should strengthen its proposed rule to keep more than 300 million pounds of slaughterhouse pollution out of our rivers and streams, as current technology allows.”<\/p>\n

Dani Replogle, Food & Water Watch Staff Attorney,<\/strong> said: \u201cSlaughterhouses have spent decades polluting our nation\u2019s waters with abandon, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. EPA must seize this opportunity to rein in this dirty industry by enacting the most environmentally protective regulatory option without further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca Cary, special counsel for the Humane Society of the United States,<\/strong> said: \u201cWe are heartened that the EPA has begun the long overdue process of curbing the daily discharge of blood, fat, nitrogen and other pollutants from industrial slaughter and rendering facilities into our waters. Limiting pollution from inhumane factory farming systems will be an important step toward protecting both people and animals from this pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larissa Liebmann, senior staff attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund,<\/strong> said: “Lax regulations allow industrial animal agriculture to profit while burdening communities with pollution and causing animals immense suffering. With these updated pollution standards, EPA is making slaughterhouses account for some of the costs of addressing their unsustainable business model.”<\/p>\n

For a copy of the proposed regulations, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Media contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project (443) 510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org<\/p>\n

Nydia Gutierrez, Earthjustice (202) 302-7531 or ngutierrez@earthjustice.org<\/p>\n

Phoebe Galt, Food & Water Watch (202) 683-2504 or pgalt@fwwatch.org<\/p>\n

Lori Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance (703) 216-8565 or lharrison@waterkeeper.org<\/p>\n

Kate Sarna, Humane Society of the United States (202) 836-1265 or ksarna@humanesociety.org<\/p>\n

Mike Heymsfield, Animal Legal Defense Fund (201) 679-7088 or media@aldf.org<\/p>\n

The <\/em>Environmental Integrity Project<\/em> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, based in Washington DC and Austin, Texas, that is dedicated to enforcing environmental laws and strengthening policy to protect public health and the environment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Food & Water Watch<\/em> is a national nonprofit mobilizing people to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Waterkeeper\u00ae Alliance<\/em> is a global movement united for clean, healthy, and abundant water for all people and the planet, on a mission to protect our right to clean water in communities around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Animal Legal Defense Fund<\/em> was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information, please visit aldf.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Humane Society<\/em> family of organizations works globally to end the cruelest practices toward animals, care for animals in crisis, build a stronger animal protection movement and create a better, more compassionate world.<\/em><\/p>\n

Waterkeepers Chesapeake<\/em> fights for clean water and a healthy environment by supporting Waterkeepers throughout the Chesapeake and coastal regions as they protect their communities, rivers, and streams from pollution.<\/em><\/p>\n

Environment America<\/em> is a national network of 30 state environmental groups working together for clean air, clean water, clean energy, wildlife and open spaces, and a livable climate.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grupos ambientalistas instan a EPA a exigir que las plantas procesadoras de carne cumplan con los est\u00e1ndares de tecnolog\u00eda moderna para la contaminaci\u00f3n por nitr\u00f3geno y f\u00f3sforo PARA PUBLICACI\u00d3N INMEDIATA: lunes, 22 de enero de 2024 Washington, DC \u2013 El gobierno federal tiene previsto publicar ma\u00f1ana las normas propuestas EPA que exigir\u00edan reducciones de la contaminaci\u00f3n en menos de la mitad de los 3.879 mataderos y\u2026 Lee mas<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,577,27],"tags":[692,77,114,532,812,609],"class_list":["post-41242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-legal-actions","category-press-statements","tag-effluent-limitation-guidelines-elgs","tag-epa","tag-legal-action","tag-nutrient-pollution","tag-rendering-plants","tag-slaughterhouses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/waterkeeperschesapeake.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41242"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}