The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn a January 2024 proposed rule that would have reduced the discharge of nutrients and pollutants from meat packing plants and slaughterhouses.
According to Successful Farming, the agency said it chose to withdraw the rules in an effort to prioritize the nation’s food supply and to keep food prices down.
The proposed rules would have revised effluent limitations guidelines and standards, or ELG,s for the meat and poultry products industry.
This industry, which the agency refers to as MPP, includes facilities that slaughter, dress, and pack meat and poultry products for human or animal consumption.
“In the EPA’s judgment, it is not appropriate to impose additional regulation on the MPP industry, given Administration priorities and policy concerns, including protecting food supply and mitigating inflationary prices for American consumers following a protracted period of high inflation from 2020 through 2024.”
