Idaho Stands with Kansas and Arkansas Against Proposed EPA Rule Impacting Meat and Poultry Industry

[BOISE] — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued a statement condemning the proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the liquid waste produced by meat and poultry processing plants in the United States. The Idaho Attorney General joins other states in expressing concern over the unnecessary and detrimental nature of this proposed regulation.

“This proposed rule is just the latest in a long line of illegal and overreaching federal interference that brings crippling regulatory costs on businesses in rural states like Idaho,” said Attorney General Labrador.  “This rule pretends to protect navigable water, but it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, regulating businesses that have absolutely zero touchpoints with navigable water in the first place.  It’s all about control.  The EPA should withdraw the rule immediately.”

The proposed rule would expand regulations to include indirect discharges from meat and poultry facilities, affecting thousands of facilities across the nation. This expansion of regulatory authority exceeds the EPA’s statutory authority under the Clean Water Act, potentially leading to significant economic impacts on businesses and consumers.

“This new proposed rule would regulate indirect discharges from these facilities; that would expand the regulation to some 3,879 facilities,” the letter reads.

Of 5,055 meat processing facilities in the United States, currently the EPA only regulates 171.

The proposed rule comes as a response to a settlement agreement between the EPA and environmental groups, which raises serious concerns about due process and transparency in the regulatory process.

Attorney General Labrador joins Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, and every other republican Attorney General in the United States in calling for the EPA to withdraw their proposed regulation.

The states signing on to the letter with Kansas, Arkansas, and Idaho include Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

To the read the letter in full, you can find it online here.