A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Join us TODAY at 12 noon (ET) for an Agricultural & Food Law Consortium webinar: “From Farm Fields to the Courthouse: Legal Issues Surrounding Pesticide Use.” Details available here.
JUDICIAL:
In NEW MEXICO FARM & LIVESTOCK BUREAU; NEW MEXICO CATTLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION; and NEW MEXICO FEDERAL LANDS COUNCIL, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; SALLY JEWELL, in her official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior; UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; and DANIEL M. ASHE, in his official capacity as Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Defendants, CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, INC. and DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE, INC., Defendant – Intervenors, No. 2:15-cv-00428-KG-CG, 2017 WL 4857444 (D.N.M. October 25, 2017), plaintiff’s sought review of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) action “designating critical habitat for the jaguar in portions of Arizona and New Mexico.” Plaintiffs claimed FWS “exceeded its authority in designating thousands of acres of arid land in New Mexico as critical habitat for the jaguar.” Court observed that the relevant statute “does not require knowing when a species is conserved during the critical habitat designation phase,” and concluded FWS did not exceed its authority. Plaintiffs’ petition for injunctive relief denied.
LEGISLATIVE:
MEETING: Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings to examine the potential for oil and gas exploration and development in the non-wilderness portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, known as the “1002 Area” or Coastal Plain, to raise sufficient revenue pursuant to the Senate reconciliation instructions included in H. Con Res. 71. Nov. 2, 9:30 a.m. (Location: SD-366).
MEETING: House Committee on Natural Resources. Rescheduled oversight hearing titled “Examining Challenges in Puerto Rico’s Recovery and the Role of the Financial Oversight and Management Board.” Nov. 7, 10 a.m. (Location: LHOB 1324).
REGULATORY: Includes USDA, FWS, FDA, FS, and NOAA rules and notices.
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT:
Notice USDA has submitted information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review. Title: Certified Mediation Program (7 CFR part 785). Details here.
Notice USDA has submitted information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review. Title: 7 CFR 1776, Household Water Well System Grant Program. Info here.
Notice Notice USDA has submitted information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review. Title: Southwestern Crown Collaborative Forest Management Social Monitoring. Details here.
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: Rule announce that we are reopening the comment period for the proposed rule to remove the plant Trichostema austromontanum ssp. compactum from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants on the basis of recovery. Info here.
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION:
Rule FDA is announcing the withdrawal, without prejudice to a future filing, of a food additive petition proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of ethoxyquin in vitamin D formulations, including 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, used in animal food. Info here.
Rule FDA is announcing the withdrawal, without prejudice to a future filing, of a food additive petition (FAP 2280) proposing that the food additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in feed for swine. Details here.
FOREST SERVICE:
Rule FS has prepared its final report pursuant to Section 2 of Executive Order 13783—Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (E.O. 13783). Info here.
Notice the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board (Board) will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota. Details here.
Notice FS administrative review procedures require agency officials to publish legal notices in newspapers of record for certain opportunities to comment and opportunities to file pre-decisional objections. Forest Service officials in the Eastern Region will publish those legal notices in the newspapers listed in this notice. Info here.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATOMSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION: Notice NOAA issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to U.S. 101/Chehalis River Bridge—Scour Repair in Washington State. Info here.