US turkey sector welcomes EPA decision on wastewater rules
NTF says move protects jobs, food supply and environment
4 September 2025
1 minute read
By: The National Turkey Federation (NTF) on Tuesday applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to maintain current effluent guidelines for the meat and poultry products (MPP) sector. The decision underscores the administration’s stated goal of streamlining regulations and providing economic relief to American workers and families.
The EPA recently reviewed the existing wastewater discharge standards for meat and poultry processors, including facility-level treatment plants. The agency concluded that the current rules are effective and that further regulation is not warranted at this time.
“EPA is saving billions of dollars in costs the American people would otherwise see in the prices of the meat and poultry they buy at the grocery store while ensuring the protection of human health and the environment,” said EPA administrator Lee Zeldin.
NTF, along with other trade groups representing the animal agriculture sector, had warned of the potential job losses, facility closures and cost increases that could result from new federal requirements. The federation has emphasized that the industry is already making ongoing efforts to safeguard water quality.
“EPA’s determination on the effluent guidelines rule shows that current regulatory arrangements that have been built for years under the Clean Water Act are working for turkey processors, the environment, for the local communities we’ve invested in and for American consumers,” said NTF president and CEO Leslee Oden.
“Avoiding this unjustified weight allows us to continue to work with our local municipal utilities and do the right things to meet our environmental demands and ultimately ensure we keep our nation’s food supply robust and healthy.”
Support for maintaining the existing framework also came from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), which in early 2024 stated that local pretreatment programs are already effective in regulating meat and poultry processors. NACWA called the system “mutually beneficial to POTWs (publicly owned treatment works) and the MPP industry” and urged EPA not to impose new pretreatment standards.
