A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions to: camarigg at uark.edu
JUDICIAL: Includes environmental, food labeling, tax, and PACA issues.
In THE COMMITTEE FOR RE-EVALUATION OF THE T-LINE LOOP, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY, et al., Defendants and Respondents, MITCHELL ENGINEERING, 2016 WL 6962091, Cal.App. 1 Dist., (Nov. 29, 2016), plaintiffs sued to stop construction of a light rail project claiming defendants failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Defendants relied on an environmental impact report that was certified in 1998 and on statements by the San Francisco Planning Department that “no further assessments or environmental impact reports for the project were required under CEQA.” On appeal, Plaintiffs claim defendants abused its discretion by failing to conduct a new CEQA analysis. Court found that “substantial evidence supports the City’s determination to proceed . . . and “substantial evidence supports the City’s determination that no further environmental impact report for the Loop was required.” Court found no abuse of discretion and affirmed for defendants.
In Speedeon Data LLC v. Integrated Direct Marketing, LLC, 2016 WL 6947015, N.D.Ohio, (Nov. 28, 2016), plaintiffs brought class action suit after defendant’s whey protein supplements stated they contained “60 grams of protein per serving.” Product actually contained 60 grams of a combination of whey protein, free-form amino acids, and other non-proteins. Among a host of claims, plaintiffs alleged defendants engaged in “protein-spiking,” in the manufacture of its whey protein products, a practice “exploit[ing] the fact that the protein content of foods is sometimes measured indirectly.” Defendant moved to dimiss, but court concluded that “Plaintiffs plausibly allege that the label’s usage of the terms ‘protein’ and ‘whey protein’ might mislead consumers into believing that those words refer only to ‘whey protein,’ when they may also include non-protein ingredients.” Defendant’s motion to dismiss denied regarding plaintiffs’ consumer fraud claims.
Re: Michael Hammer v. Township of Howell Block 41, Lot 13, 2016 WL 6938348, Tax Court of New Jersey (Nov. 17, 2016) involved a tax assessment on plaintiff’s farmhouse and land that housed a natural liquefied gas storage facility. Plaintiff argued assessment should be reduced “to account for the negative factors caused by the Facility, but it is impossible to obtain comparable sales to support such adjustment since farmhouses like the Subject are ‘one of a kind.’” Court reasoned that “the natural consequences of the operation of the Facility (noise, smell, hazards) must be balanced by the buffer between the Subject and the Facility.” Court upheld tax assessments, concluding plaintiff provided “no credible evidence for the court to independently provide any value adjustment.”
In In re: The Square Group, LLC, Respondent, PACA Docket No. D-15-0102, 2016 WL 6956714 (U.S.D.A. Nov. 10, 2016), respondent failed to make payment for produce and filed for bankruptcy. Administrative court found respondent willfully violated the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and respondent appealed. Respondent argued court “erroneously concluded that [respondent] was not entitled to an oral hearing on material issues of fact.” Appellate court determined respondent was not entitled to a hearing because “the Schedule F that Square Group filed in its bankruptcy proceeding constitutes an admission of the material allegations set forth in the Complaint,” and concluded that, “If a respondent in a PACA disciplinary proceeding admits the failure to pay for agricultural commodities in a related bankruptcy proceeding, no hearing is required in the PACA disciplinary proceeding.”
REGULATORY: Includes AMS, EPA, FWS, FDA, FS, and NOAA rules and notices.
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE: Notice AMS will request an extension of and revision to the currently approved information collection 0581-0093 the National Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Programs. Details here.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: Rule EPA is finalizing revisions and confidentiality determinations for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Info here.
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: Notice FWS announces 90-day findings on three petitions to list or reclassify wildlife or plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Info here.
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Rule FDA is amending the regulations for food additives permitted in feed and drinking water of animals to provide for the safe use of guanidinoacetic acid as a substance that spares arginine and serves as a precursor of creatine in broiler chicken and turkey feeds. Details here.
FOREST SERVICE: Notice FS will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to propose a variety of projects for multiple resource benefits at a landscape level to implement over the course of 10 to 15 years. Info here.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION: Rule NMFS apportions amounts of the non-specified reserve to the total allowable catch of Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Alaska plaice, Kamchatka flounder, northern rockfish, skates, sculpins, sharks, and octopus in the BSAI management area. Details here.