- The Meat and Poultry Products Industry Coalition (MPP), a group of trade associations representing the meat and poultry processing industries, has filed a motion to intervene (Law360 subscription required) in a lawsuit brought by several environmental and animal groups against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for pulling back a proposed Clean Water Act (CWA) rule. According to MPP, the EPA “cannot adequately represent” its members’ interests, which may differ from EPA’s interests.
- In 2024, the EPA proposed a rule to strengthen effluent limitations for the meat and poultry products point source category under the CWA, saying that the regulations needed to be updated to address effects of certain nutrients on the environment. However, the Trump administration’s EPA withdrew the proposal in September 2025, saying that it reached a different conclusion about whether it is “appropriate” to update the regulation.
- In response, a group of environmental and animal focused organizations sued the EPA, arguing that “the proposal would have stopped millions of pounds of pollutants from being dumped by slaughterhouses and meat processing plants into waterways across the U.S.”
- MPP argued in its motion to intervene that its members would suffer “significant, including irreparable, harm, including the closure of business” if the groups were to prevail.
- Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor this lawsuit.