Posted July 14, 2015
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in accordance with the negotiated settlement of a lawsuit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a notice in the Federal Register on April 30, 2013, announcing and inviting comments on their intention to develop a draft programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) of the effects of the cultivation and use of genetically modified crops (GMCs) on certain refuges in the Southeast Region to meet wildlife management objectives.
As part of the settlement agreement, they have also agreed to discontinue cultivating and using the GMCs in the Southeast Region after the 2012 crop year and to refrain from such activities until 90 days after completion of an appropriate NEPA analysis of such activities.
On July 17, 2014, the Chief of the Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System issued a memorandum announcing that the use of GMCs to meet wildlife management objectives within the National Wildlife Refuge System would be phased out and discontinued by January 2016. Accordingly, they have concluded that their NEPA process is no longer necessary and notifying the public that they are discontinuing preparation of the PEA.
For more information, the Federal Register is available here.
For more information on environmental law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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