Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement after co-leading a 27-state comment letter opposing a proposal from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would unduly burden state and national meat and poultry producers and illegally expand the EPA’s regulatory authority:
“The EPA wants to impose illegal and crippling regulations on meat and poultry producers, and it has circumvented Congress, colluded with extreme environmental groups, and entered into a consent decree that would radically expand the EPA’s regulatory authority. The EPA’s proposed rule would add additional regulations on processing plants with indirect wastewater discharges—discharges that are already treated by a municipal or other wastewater treatment facility, which are themselves subject to EPA regulations. That’s an extra layer of regulation that doesn’t accomplish anything. And the EPA lacks the legal authority to impose such regulations.
“The Clean Water Act already sufficiently regulates processing plants that discharge wastewater directly into navigable waters. The EPA currently regulates approximately 150 such plants. The EPA’s proposed rule would increase the number of processing plants that are directly regulated by the EPA from 150 to as many as 3,789 and adversely impact small, family-owned production operations like many here in Arkansas.
“The EPA can’t arbitrarily decide to increase its regulatory authority via a consent decree; only Congress can increase federal agencies’ regulatory power. The EPA should withdraw this rule immediately.â€
Griffin co-led the letter with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, and they were joined by a coalition of 25 other attorneys general. The letter asks the EPA to withdraw the proposed rule and argues that it exceeds the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act. Additionally, the letter explains that the proposed rule is part of a legal settlement between the Biden administration and its radical environmental allies—all designed to avoid congressional oversight and unlawfully expand the EPA’s authority.
The 25 states joining Arkansas and Kansas on the letter were Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, 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 read the letter, click here.
