A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions to: camarigg at uark.edu
CASE LAW: Includes International Trade Commission, SNAP benefits, administrative records, Endangered Species Act and attorney fee issues.
In THE COALITION FOR FAIR TRADE OF HARDWOOD PLYWOOD, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Defendant, AMERICAN ALLIANCE FOR HARDWOOD PLYWOOD, et al., Defendant-Intervenors, & CHINA NATIONAL FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION AND MEMBERS, Defendant-Intervenors., No. 14-00013, 2016 WL 3557448 (Ct. Int’l Trade June 8, 2016), the ITC determined U.S. plywood industry was not materially injured or threatened by hardwood plywood imports from China. Plaintiff contested ITC’s determinations. Case remanded and ITC ordered to “evaluate the ‘magnitude of the dumping margins’ when making its impact finding as part of its injury determination.”
In Erickson v. United States Dep’t of Agric., No. 5:15-CV-00278-JMH, 2016 WL 3546315 (E.D. Ky. June 23, 2016), plaintiff sued in federal court alleging defendants withheld $3,600 in SNAP benefits and deprived her of “constitutionally protected rights” under the Fourteenth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. Court dismissed plaintiff’s suit for failure to “state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
SAN LUIS & DELTA-MENDOTA WATER AUTHORITY & WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT, Plaintiffs, v. SALLY JEWELL, et al., Defendants, THE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE; THE YUROK TRIBE; PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS; & INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES, Defendant-Intervenors., No. 115CV01290LJOGSA, 2016 WL 3543203 (E.D. Cal. June 23, 2016) concerned the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s decision to make flow augmentation releases of water from Lewiston Dam. Plaintiff requested defendant be required to produce a privilege log identifying withheld documents. Court denied plaintiff’s request concluding, “To require a privilege log as a matter of course in any administrative record case where a privilege appears to have been invoked would undermine the presumption of correctness. This would shift the record compilation process too closely toward mechanisms employed in cases subject to regular civil discovery.”
Markle Interests, L.L.C. v. United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., No. 14-31008, 2016 WL 3568093 (5th Cir. June 30, 2016) concerned the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s “inclusion of private land in a critical-habitat designation under the Endangered Species Act.” Plaintiff landowners contended USFWS violated NEPA by failing to prepare an environmental impact statement and claimed “lost future development and lost property value.” Appellate court found “economic injuries do not fall within the zone of interests protected by NEPA,” and upheld earlier ruling that USFWS correctly applied ESA to private land.
In Exotic Feline Breeding Compound, Inc. v. Dep’t of Fish & Wildlife, No. F070449, 2016 WL 3564206 (Cal. Ct. App. June 22, 2016), California Department of Fish and Wildlife appealed a $134,417 award of attorney fees, contending “the litigation did not enforce an important right affecting the public interest, a significant benefit was not conferred on the general public or a large class of persons, and the necessity and financial burden of private enforcement did not make such an award appropriate.” Appellate court affirmed lower court, ruling it correctly applied the “lodestar method” in awarding attorney fees.
H.R. 3844: Energy and Minerals Reclamation Foundation Establishment Act of 2015. This bill’s text for status Reported by House Committee is now available.
REGULATORY: Includes USDA and EPA notices.
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT: Notice USDA solicits nominations to fill vacancies on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board and its subcommittees. Details here.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: Notice EPA announces its decision that no additional regulations are needed to address stormwater discharges from forest roads under the Clean Water Act. Details here.