Rather than launch its rulemaking process, the EPA said on Tuesday it would appoint a panel to study, over the next year or so, the best ways to reduce polluted runoff from factory farms. Environmental group Food and Water Watch (FWW) said the “deeply flawed response amounts to yet more delay” in development of stricter water-pollution standards for large livestock and poultry farms.
FWW was among six national groups that filed a petition in 2017, asking the EPA to write stronger water pollution rules for factory farms. Only three in 10 of the largest CAFOs — confined animal feeding operations — are currently regulated, says FWW. The EPA agreed in court earlier this year to reach a decision on the petition by Tuesday.
“EPA denies this petition at this time,” wrote Radhika Fox, EPA assistant administrator in a 12-page letter that announced plans to appoint a panel with 10-20 members “to hear from farmers, community groups, researchers, state agencies, and others about the most effective and efficient ways to reduce pollutants generated from CAFOs.”
The panel, a subcommittee to the EPA’s agriculture advisory committee, was expected to spend 12-18 months on its work once members are appointed this fall, said the EPA. In addition, the EPA will undertake a detailed study of its effluent limitations and guidelines for CAFOs. After that, the EPA will consider whether to revise its regulations, said Fox.
Under that timeline, a decision was unlikely before the 2024 presidential election, said FWW. “The fight to safeguard clean water is far from over. We are considering all of our options moving forward.”