DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity sued Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ administration today for failing to require that the JBS cattle slaughterhouse in Greeley follow state and federal clean-air laws. The Center also filed a notice of its intent to sue the multinational agricultural company, which has been operating the slaughterhouse without a legally required air pollution permit for more than five years.

“The Polis administration has given JBS a dangerous free pass to pollute. We’re suing to ensure the state follows the law and protects Colorado communities,” said Jeremy Nichols, a senior advocate at the Center. “It’s time to put an end to this lawless, harmful pollution. JBS needs to comply with our clean air laws.”

As one of the largest slaughterhouses in Colorado, JBS’s Greeley facility is a significant source of air pollution known to be harmful to people’s health. Thousands of cattle are slaughtered, skinned, rendered and disposed of daily. Air pollution spews from boilers, cookers, dryers and wastewater treatment. The facility has the potential to release thousands of tons of harmful pollutants every year, including particulate matter, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and methane gas.

Today’s lawsuit, filed in Weld County District Court, targets the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division for failing to meet a legally required deadline for approving the air pollution operating permit for JBS’s slaughterhouse. Large air pollution sources like slaughterhouses are required to obtain operating permits. The state permits must set requirements to ensure these companies comply with state and federal clean air laws.

JBS applied for its state permit in April 2022, more than a year after it was required to do so. By law the division was required to grant or deny the application within 18 months. But four years after JBS’s application, Colorado regulators have failed to issue a permit or correct ongoing unpermitted pollution.

Until the permit is issued JBS is legally prohibited by the Clean Air Act from operating its slaughterhouse. The Colorado Air Division has failed to enforce this ongoing violation.

The Clean Air Act allows the public to enforce the law against polluters where states have failed to act. The Center’s legal notice to JBS begins the required 60-day period before a lawsuit can be filed in federal court to halt violations and seek penalties.

Today’s legal actions aim to ensure JBS’s slaughterhouse complies fully with state and federal clean air laws.

The Center is represented in the lawsuit by the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Environmental Law Clinic.

More information about the Center’s fight against air pollution is available at Protecting Air Quality Under the Clean Air Act.