Biofuels
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending July 30, 2021
Animal Welfare: Federal Appeals Court Upholds California’s Proposition 12 With Five Months Until Its Effective Date 🌾
On July 28, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in Nat’l Pork Producers Council, et al v. Karen Ross, et al, No. 20-55631, holding that California’s Proposition 12 in-state production animal confinement standards and in-state sales restriction for products not produced in accordance with them, do not violate the United States Constitution’s Commerce Clause. In upholding Proposition 12’s constitutionality, the Court affirmed the earlier decision upholding Proposition 12 issued by the U. S. District Court for […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending July 16, 2021
WOTUS: Federal Court Grants EPA Request to Remand and Leaves Navigable Waters Protection Rule in Place 🌾
On July 15, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina issued an order granting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion to remand without vacatur the Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States” (85 FR 22250) (NWPR). South Carolina Coastal Conservation League v. Wheeler, No. 2:20-cv-01687. The court, which had previously stayed the case to allow for the administration change and EPA review of the rule, declined to explain its ruling in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending July 2, 2021
Animal Welfare: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review of Refusal to Grant Injunction Against California’s Proposition 12 🌾
On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States denied North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI) petition for certiorari from the refusal to grant an injunction against California’s Proposition 12 on the basis that it violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. North American Meat Institute v. Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California, et al., No. 20-1215. Proposition 12 establishes in-state animal confinement standards for egg-laying hens, veal calves, and breeding sows and prohibits the in-state sale of noncompliant products (included […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending June 25, 2021
Biofuels: U.S. Supreme Court Allows Non-Continuous Small Refinery Renewable Fuels Standard Blending Obligation Waiver Extensions 🌾
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion holding that a small refinery that previously received a waiver from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations may still receive an “extension” of the waiver even if it did not acquire a continuous waiver in previous years and allowed a previous exemption to lapse. HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC, et al., v. Renewable Fuels Association, et al., No. 20-472. The court found that the term “extension,” which is undefined in […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of June 28, 2021
Biofuels: U.S. Supreme Court Allows Non-Continuous Small Refinery Renewable Fuels Standard Blending Obligation Waiver Extensions ⚡
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion holding that a small refinery that previously received a waiver from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations may still receive an “extension” of the waiver even if it did not acquire a continuous waiver in previous years and allowed a previous exemption to lapse. HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC, et al., v. Renewable Fuels Association, et al., No. 20-472. The court found that the term “extension,” which is undefined in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending June 11, 2021
WOTUS: EPA Requests Remand and Announces Intent to Rewrite WOTUS Definition 🌾
On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a motion in litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts requesting the remand without vacatur of the agency’s April 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) (85 FR 22250), defining “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, for the express reason that EPA plans to attempt another re-write of the WOTUS definition. Conservation Law Foundation v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 1:20-cv-10820. According to EPA’s accompanying
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending May 21, 2021
Organic Agriculture: USDA AMS Reopens Comment Period on Origin of Livestock Rule Under National Organic Program 🌾
On May 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) posted in the Federal Register a proposed rule titled, “National Organic Program; Origin of Livestock; Reopening of Comment Period” (86 FR 25961). The posting re-opens the comment period for the April 2015 proposed rule requiring that organic milk products be derived from animals under “continuous organic management from the last third of gestation onward.” However, newly certified organic dairy producers may transition livestock into […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending May 7, 2021
Chesapeake Bay: EPA Releases Evaluation of Draft Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan 🌾
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the agency had completed its evaluation of the draft Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan (CWIP), which outlines a proposed plan to reduce 6 million pounds of nitrogen and 260,000 pounds of phosphorus added to the Conowingo Dam infill to compensate for the previously miscalculated capacity of the Conowingo Dam and reservoir to trap those nutrients accumulating behind the dam. According to EPA’s evaluation, the draft CWIP targets best management restoration practices “in the most effective […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending March 26, 2021
COVID-19: USDA Announces New ‘Pandemic Assistance for Producers’ Initiative 🌾
On March 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its new $6 billion financial assistance initiative, USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers. Combining existing programs with new spending, the initiative aims to resolve disparities in previous assistance distribution through a four-part agenda: 1) $6 billion in Consolidated Appropriations Act and unspent coronavirus funds for new program spending, including assistance for the Dairy Donation Program, biofuels, specialty crops, and farmworker personal protective equipment; 2) $500 million in additional existing program spending, including the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending February 26, 2021
Antitrust: Court Grants Preliminary Approval of Civil Antitrust Settlement; Tyson and Pilgrim’s to Pay $155 Million 🌾
On February 25, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an order granting preliminary approval of the settlements between Defendants Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Tyson Foods and the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs (DPPs) in the consolidated antitrust class action suit In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation (No. 1:16-cv-08637). According to the agreement, subject to a June 29, 2021 Fairness Hearing, Pilgrim’s will pay up to $75 million to the DPP Class, which it previously announced. See ALWR—week ending January 15, […]
