The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposed rule revising the effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) for meat slaughter and processing facilities, including rendering facilities, and establishes requirements for the poultry slaughtering and processing sector.
The proposed regulation establishes requirements for large meat and poultry products (MPP) facilities to control the discharge of conventional pollutants (biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, fecal coliform, hexane extractable material [measures oils and greases]), chemical oxygen demand, and nutrient pollutants including ammonia as nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. EPA is basing the proposed requirements on the application of biological treatment including nitrification and denitrification to remove nutrients.
Proposed revisions for independent renderers would not require independent renderers to control nutrients but do require these facilities to comply with more stringent limitations for ammonia. These limitations are based on improved performance of the existing treatment technologies required to comply with existing regulation.
The proposed regulation does not revise existing requirements that apply to meat slaughtering or further processing facilities with an annual production of 50 million pounds per year or less, nor does it propose new requirements for independent rendering facilities that render 10 million pounds of raw material per year or less.
The proposal establishes less stringent requirements for poultry products facilities that slaughter 10 million pounds per year or only further process seven million pounds per year or less. EPA estimates that these smaller MPP facilities are responsible for a small fraction (three percent of the conventional pollutants and four percent of the nutrients) of the overall pollutant load discharged from all MPP facilities.
EPA is also not proposing to establish pretreatment standards for the MPP facilities. Wastewater pollutants found in MPP wastewater are generally compatible with the wastewater treatment found at publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). EPA believes that POTWs are capable of effectively treating MPP wastewater.
Comment is being solicited on this proposal, specifically requesting information on POTW interferences caused by MPP discharges.
The agency estimates that the proposed regulation will achieve a reduction in nutrients discharged by the MPP industry of 53.9 million pounds per year, and conventionals by 32.7 million pounds per year. EPA estimates that 246 facilities will be affected by the proposal and will incur costs estimated to total $80 million per year (1999 dollars), which the agency concludes is economically achievable.
Comments on the proposed regulation must be submitted by April 26, 2002. More information is available on the EPA Effluent Guidelines Web site at www.epa.gov/ost/guide/mpp.
April 2002 Render