A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE.
REGULATORY: Includes APHIS, EPA, FEMA, FWS, FNS, NOAA
ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
Notice soliciting public comment on establishing regulations for the movement of certain animals modified or developed by genetic engineering. APHIS would conduct a safety assessment of animals subject to the FMIA or PPIA that have been modified or developed using genetic engineering that may increase the animal’s susceptibility to pests or diseases of livestock, including zoonotic diseases, or ability to transmit the same. Info here.
Final rule amending the domestic quarantine regulations for pale cyst nematode by adding procedures that allow persons to review and comment on the protocols for regulating and deregulating quarantined and associated areas. Info here.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Final rule to adjust the level of the maximum (and minimum) statutory civil monetary penalty amounts under the statutes the EPA administers. Info here.
Notice announcing the Agency’s receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities (November 2020). Info here.
Notice announcing the Agency’s receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities (August 2020). Info here.
Notice opening a 60-day comment period on the draft nationwide biological evaluations for the registration review of the pesticides atrazine, simazine, and propazine relative to the potential effects on threatened and endangered species and their designated critical habitats. This document extends the comment period for 45 days, from January 5, 2021 to February 19, 2021. Info here.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Final rule identifying communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. Info here.
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Final rule establishes a new permit for State and federally recognized Tribal fish and wildlife agencies for the management of double-crested cormorants. Info here.
FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE
Notice informing the public of the annual adjustments to the reimbursement rates for meals served in the Summer Food Service Program for Children. Info here.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
Temporary rule adjusting the 2021 total allowable catch amounts for the Gulf of Alaska pollock and Pacific cod fishery. Info here.
Temporary rule transferring 19.5 metric tons of Atlantic bluefin tuna from the 28.9-mt General category December 2021 subquota to the January through March 2021 subquota period. Info here.
Temporary rule opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by various sectors in the Gulf of Alaska. Info here.
Final rule revising the annual reference points, including the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch and annual catch limit, for the central subpopulation of northern anchovy in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the west coast under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. Info here.
Temporary rule implementing emergency measures under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to revise portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan into fishing year 2020. Info here.
Proposed rule to amend the regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury to North Atlantic right whales, fin whales, and humpback whales in northeast commercial lobster and crab trap/pot fisheries to meet the goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Info here.
Final rule establishing the 2021-2022 harvest specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Info here.
LEGISLATIVE: Includes New York
NEW YORK
A 732 prohibits the use of glyphosate on state property. Info here.