Colorado air pollution regulators are years late in issuing federally mandated permits for the JBS slaughterhouse in Greeley, according to a lawsuit filed against the state by an environmental group that warns it will also sue the meatpacking giant. 

The Center for Biological Diversity says thousands of cattle are slaughtered and rendered at the facility each day, and the process produces tons of pollutants like ammonia, methane, nitrogen oxide and particulates. JBS was more than a year late in applying for required air pollution permits in 2022, and then state officials, who administer the federal Clean Air Act, were supposed to issue the permit within 18 months. 

Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment has still not issued the permit, the lawsuit filed in Weld County district court says, and has missed the opportunity to crack down on harmful pollution. 

“We’re suing to ensure the state follows the law and protects Colorado communities,” said Jeremy Nichols, a senior advocate for the nonprofit pollution watchdog. 

The center also issued a required legal notice to JBS that it intends to sue the company in federal court after a  60-day response period expires, demanding penalties for violating the Clean Air Act. The act says companies like JBS are not allowed to operate until Colorado issues a permit, and Colorado has failed to enforce that provision, the lawsuit says. 

A spokesperson for JBS, which has been caught up in a strike and settlement at the Greeley operation, did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. The company employs 3,800 people at the plant and is one of the largest beef processors in America. 

The state health department said it does not comment on litigation. 

The Center for Biological Diversity has successfully challenged other late permits in other Colorado industries. 

“Our litigation from last fall compelled the state to act on two permits, one for a Crestone compressor station near Watkins and the other for a Magellan tank facility in Aurora,” Nichols said, in an emailed response. 

Nor is the JBS suit the first action against a meatpacker. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a December lawsuit that Colorado was also a year and a half behind in deadlines to regulate air pollution from the Cargill slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan, and should be ordered by a judge to either deny or issue the permit.

Cargill processes thousands of head of cattle each day, with pollution coming from fossil fuel boilers, flaring, wastewater and cooking and drying equipment, according to the group’s lawsuit, filed in Morgan County District Court. 

The University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law Environmental Law Clinic is representing the nonprofit in the court cases. The Sun reported in February that the backlog of overdue major air pollution permits at the health department’s Air Pollution Control Division had grown to 128, from 111 in 2022, despite tens of millions of dollars in state investment for expanded staff and new digital processing.

Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.