EPA to review and revise wastewater discharge limits for the meat & poultry industries
Water is a critical necessity in producing a safe and wholesome source of protein for consumers. While water is used in virtually every phase of harvesting live animals and multiple steps during further processing operations, the great majority of this water is not consumed. Rather, it is recycled and reused after it has been treated.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 is the mechanism that allows meat and poultry processing plants to discharge treated process wastewater from their facilities. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit System (NPDES) permits issued under the authority of the CWA establishes, among other things, limits on what you can discharge. Although constituents in meat and poultry processing effluent can vary, common pollutants regulated through the issuance of NPDES permits include biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, oil and grease, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Meat and poultry processing facilities that obtain and adhere to the stipulations outlined in their NPDES permits are given the authority to directly discharge their treated wastewater to the environment.