April 8, 2009

Two US poultry groups have filed suit in federal court challenging certain aspects of the US Environmental Protection Agency's regulations on water pollution discharges from confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

The National Chicken Council and US Poultry & Egg Association made the announcement Monday (Apr 6) in a press release. The groups filed in the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The regulation in question was issued in response to the industry's victory in the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in 2005, in which the court said the EPA could not require growers to apply for permits merely because they have a "potential to discharge" pollutants to the waters of the US, the release said.

The EPA replaced that portion of the rule with a new provision that would require permits where there is a "proposal to discharge." The lawsuit will challenge the new requirement as not conforming to the Second Circuit's ruling, the release said.

In addition, the lawsuit challenges recent guidance documents, issued by the EPA in the form of letters that interpret the CAFO regulation. The poultry groups said the letters essentially say a grower has a "proposal to discharge," and therefore must apply for a permit, if poultry housing has a ventilation fan that may potentially exhaust dust or other substances on the ground where rain water might wash them into a ditch leading to surface waters.

The NCC and USPOULTRY will argue that Congress did not intend to regulate these normal agricultural practices when it enacted the Clean Water Act, the release said.

David Ryan, public affairs official for the EPA, said in an e-mailed response, "We'll review the lawsuit and respond accordingly."

Member companies of NCC account for about 95 percent of the chicken sold in the US. USPOULTRY serves producers of broilers, turkeys, eggs and breeding stock, as well as allied companies.