Environmental

Did you know that Giant Panda cubs can be as small as a stick of butter?  A panda mother is approximately 900 times bigger than her newborn cub, which can weigh less than 5 ounces.  This is like an 8-pound human baby having a mother that weighed 7,200 pounds – this size difference may explain why so many panda cubs die from accidentally being crushed by their mothers.  However, not everything is doom and gloom for the Giant Panda.  Chinese officials have officially downgraded pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable.”  Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature re-labelled, the Panda as “vulnerable” in 2016, China wanted to make sure that the population of its national treasure continued to grow before downgrading the panda’s classification.  

Although it seems as though pandas are thriving thanks to conservation efforts in China, not all animal species in China are so lucky.  This week’s Ag Law Harvest takes a trip around the world to bring you domestic and international agricultural and resource issues.  We take a look at court decisions, Congress’ latest actions, China’s struggle with African Swine Fever, and President Biden’s latest executive order. 

Iowa Supreme Court Dismisses Raccoon River Lawsuit.  Environmental organizations (“Plaintiffs”) filed a lawsuit against the state of Iowa and its agencies (“Defendants”) asking the court to compel Defendants to adopt legislation that would require Iowa farmers to implement practices that would help reduce the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in Raccoon River.  The Plaintiffs argued that Defendants violated their duty under the Public Trust Doctrine (“PTD”), which is a legal doctrine that requires states to hold certain natural resources in trust for the benefit of the state’s citizens.  Defendants argued that Plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.  The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with Defendants and found that a ruling in Plaintiffs’ favor would not necessarily remediate Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries, and therefore the Plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.  The Iowa Supreme Court also found that Plaintiffs’ issue was a nonjusticiable political question.  The political question doctrine is a principle that helps prevent upsetting the balance of power between the branches of government.  Under the doctrine, courts will not decide certain issues because they are better suited to be decided by another branch of government.  In this case, the court reasoned that Plaintiffs’ issue was better suited to be resolved through the legislative branch of government, not the judicial branch.  The Iowa Supreme Court decision is significant because, as it stands, agricultural producers in the Raccoon River Watershed will not be required to adopt any new practices but the decision leaves it up to Iowa’s legislature to determine whether farmers should be required to adopt new practices under the PTD to help reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in Raccoon River.  

U.S. House of Representatives’ spending bill increases focuses on climate action and environmental protection.  Before the July 4th break, the United States House Appropriations Committee approved the first of its Fiscal Year 2022 (“FY22”) funding bills.  Included in these bills is the agriculture funding bill, which will be sent to the House floor for full consideration.  The bill provides $26.55 billion in the discretionary funding of agencies and programs within the USDA, FDA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration – an increase of $2.851 billion from 2021.  In total, the agriculture funding bill includes $196.7 billion for both mandatory and discretionary programs.  The bill focuses on: (1) rural development and infrastructure – including rural broadband; (2) food and nutrition programs to help combat hunger and food insecurity; (3) international food assistance to promote U.S. agricultural exports; (4) conservation programs to help farmers, ranchers, and other landowners protect their land; (5) ag lending; (6) climate-related work to help research and remedy the climate crisis; and (7) enforcement of environmental programs.  The agriculture spending bill will, however, have to be reconciled with any spending bill produced by the U.S. Senate.

U.S. House Agriculture Committee advances rural broadband bill.  The House Agriculture Committee (the “Committee”) unanimously voted to advance the Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act (the “Act”), which would authorize $4.5 billion in annual funding, starting in fiscal year 2022, for the Broadband ReConnect Program (the “Program”) through fiscal year 2029.  The existing Program is set to expire on June 30, 2022.  To demonstrate Congress’ commitment to expanding rural broadband, the Program was only given $742 million in 2021.  It is unclear whether the Act will be included in the infrastructure package that is currently being negotiated between Congress and the White House.  Under the Act, the USDA must give the highest priority to projects that seek to provide broadband service to unserved communities that do not have any residential broadband service with speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps.  The USDA will then prioritize communities with less than 10,000 permanent residents and areas with a high percentage of low-income families.

Small hog farmers in China no longer required to seek environmental approval.  China is the world’s largest pork producer and over the past few years, its hog herds have been decimated.  A deadly African Swine Fever (“ASF”) has wiped out about half of China’s hog herds, especially affecting small farmers.  According to Reuters, China relies heavily on small farmers for its pork output, but because of ASF, small farmers have been left with little to no product and mass amounts of debts.  Further, Chinese farmers are hesitant to rebuild their herds because ASF is an ongoing risk and farmers stand to lose everything if they continue to raise diseased hogs.  Addressing these concerns, China’s agriculture ministry will no longer require small hog farmers to get environmental approval from the government before breeding their hogs.  China hopes to reduce the costs and red tape for small farmers as China tries to incentivize small farmers to rebuild their hog herds.  African Swine Fever is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine.  The ASF poses no threat to human health but can decimate domestic hog populations.  Germany has recently reported its first two cases of ASF in domestic hogs.  Currently, ASF has not been found within the United States, and the USDA hopes to keep it that way.  To learn more about ASF, visit the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website. 

President Biden signs executive order to reduce consolidation in agriculture.  President Biden’s recent Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy seeks to address inadequate competition within the U.S. economy that the administration believes holds back economic growth and innovation.  The Order includes more than 70 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies to promote competition.  With respect to agriculture, the Order seeks to break up agricultural markets “that have become more concentrated and less competitive.”  The Biden Administration believes that the markets for seeds, equipment, feed, and fertilizer are dominated by a few large companies which negatively impacts family farmers and ranchers.  The Biden Administration believes that the lack of competition increases the costs of inputs for family farmers all while decreasing the revenue a family farmer receives.  The Order directs the USDA to consider issuing new rules: (1) making it easier for farmers to bring and win lawsuits under the Packers and Stockyards Act; (2) prohibiting chicken processors from exploiting and underpaying chicken farmers; (3) adopting anti-retaliation protections for farmers who speak out about a company’s bad practices; and (4) defining when meat producers can promote and label their products as a “Product of the USA.”  The Order also requires the USDA to develop a plan to increase opportunities for small farmers to access markets and receive a fair return and encourages the Federal Trade Commission to limit when equipment companies can restrict farmers from repairing their own farm machinery.  Follow this link to learn more about President Biden’s recent Executive Order.

Did you know that the Florida Panther is the last subspecies of Mountain Lion found east of the Mississippi River?  The Florida Panther is an endangered species with an estimated population of under 100 panthers.  As bleak as it may seem, things may be looking up for the Florida Panther to make a roaring comeback (which is ironic because Florida Panthers can’t roar). 

Like the Florida Panther, we have prowled agricultural and resource issues from across the country.  Topics include a historic move by Florida to protect its wildlife and natural resources, agritourism getting a boost in Pennsylvania, Colorado’s livestock industry receiving a lifeline, and USDA efforts to expand broadband and water quality initiatives.   

Florida makes conservation history.  Florida has recently enacted a new law known as the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act (the “Act”).  The Act creates a wildlife corridor that will connect Florida’s large national and state parks and create an unbroken area of preserved land that stretches from the Alabama state line all the way down to the Florida Keys.  Specifically, the Act looks to protect about 18 million acres of habitat for Florida’s wildlife.  The Act seeks to prevent wildlife, like the Florida Panther, from being cut off from other members of its species, which is a main driver of extinction.  The Act also aims to protect Florida’s major watersheds and rivers, provide wildlife crossings over and/or under major highways and roads, and establish sustainable practices to help working ranches, farms and, forests that will be vital to ensuring the success and sustainability of the wildlife corridor.  The Act goes into effect July 1 and provides $400 million in initial funding to help purchase land to create the corridor.    

Pennsylvania provides protection for agritourism operators.  Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Wolf, signed House Bill 101 into law.  Like Ohio’s law, House Bill 101 shields agritourism operators from certain lawsuits that could arise from circumstances beyond their control.  House Bill 101 prevents participants in an agritourism activity from suing the agritourism operator if the operator warns participants of the inherent risks of being on a farm and engaging in an agritourism activity.  An agritourism operator must: (1) have a 3’ x 2’ warning sign posted and notifying participants that an agritourism operator is not liable, except under limited circumstances, for any injury or death of a participant resulting from an agritourism activity; and (2) have a signed written agreement with an agritourism participant acknowledging an agritourism operator’s limited liability or have specific language printed on an admission ticket to an agritourism activity that notifies and warns a participant of an agritourism operator’s limited liability.  House Bill 101, however, does not completely shelter agritourism operators.  An agritourism operator can still be liable for injuries, death, or damages arising from overnight accommodations, weddings, concerts, and food and beverage services.  The enactment of House Bill 101 will help to protect farmers from costly and unnecessary lawsuits and provide additional sustainability to Pennsylvania’s agritourism industry.     

Colorado Supreme Court strikes proposed ballot initiative seeking to hold farmers liable for animal cruelty.  The Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion removing Initiative 16, also known as the Protect Animals from Unnecessary Suffering and Exploitation Initiative (“PAUSE”), from voter consideration.  Initiative 16 sought to amend Colorado law and remove certain agriculture exemptions from Colorado’s animal cruelty laws.  Initiative 16 intended to set limitations on the slaughter of livestock and to broadly expand the definition of “sexual act with an animal” to include any intrusion or penetration of an animal’s sexual organs, which opponents of the initiative have argued would prohibit artificial insemination and spaying/neutering procedures.  The Colorado Supreme Court found that the initiative violated Colorado’s single-subject requirement for ballot initiatives and therefore, was an illegal ballot initiative.  The court argued that the central theme of the initiative was to incorporate livestock into Colorado’s animal cruelty laws.  However, because the initiative redefined “sexual act with an animal” to include animals other than livestock, the court concluded that the ballot initiative covered two subjects, not one.  The court reasoned that because the initiative addresses two unrelated subjects, voters could be surprised by the consequences of the initiative if it passed, which is why Colorado has single-subject requirement for ballot initiatives. 

USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program (“CRP”) signups.  The USDA set a July 23 deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the CRP General and will also be accepting applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 through August 20.  Through the CRP General, producers and landowners establish long-term conservation practices aimed at conserving certain plant species, controlling soil erosion, improving water quality, and enhancing wildlife habitat on cropland.  CRP Grasslands helps landowners and producers protect grasslands including rangeland, pastureland, and certain other lands, while maintaining grazing lands.  To enroll in the CRP, producers and landowners should contact their local USDA Service Center. 

USDA expands CLEAR30 initiative nationwide.  The USDA announced that landowners and agricultural producers currently enrolled in CRP now have an opportunity to sign a 30-year contract through the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rivers Initiative (“CLEAR30”).  CLEAR30 was created by the 2018 Farm Bill to address water quality concerns and was originally only available in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.  Now, producers and landowners across the country can sign up for CLEAR30.  Eligible producers must have certain water quality improvement practices under a continuous CRP or under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (“CREP”) and contracts that are set to expire on September 30, 2021.  The USDA hopes that by expanding the initiative, it will enable more producers to take conservation efforts up a level and create lasting impacts.  CLEAR30’s longer contracts help to ensure that conservation benefits will remain in place longer to help in reducing sediment and nutrient runoff and reducing algal blooms.  To sign up, producers and landowners should contact their local USDA Service Center by August 6, 2021.

Three federal agencies enter into agreement to coordinate broadband funding deployment.  The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), the USDA, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) entered into an agreement to coordinate the distribution of federal funds for broadband development in rural areas.  In an announcement released by the USDA, Secretary Vilsack stressed the importance of broadband in rural communities.  Lessons learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic have made access to broadband a central issue for local, state, federal and Tribal governments.  The goal is to get 100% of Americans connected to high-speed internet.  As part of the signed agreement, the agencies will share information about existing or planned projects and identify areas that need broadband service in order to reach the 100% connectivity goal.  Visit the USDA’s Rural Development Telecom Programs webpage to learn more about the USDA’s efforts to provide broadband service in rural areas.

Poison hemlock and Canada thistle are making unwelcome appearances across Ohio, and that raises the need to talk about Ohio’s noxious weeds law.  The law provides mechanisms for dealing with noxious weeds—those weeds that can cause harm to humans, animals, and ecosystems.  Location matters when we talk about noxious weeds.  That’s because Ohio law provides different procedures for dealing with noxious weeds depending upon where we find the weeds.  The law addresses the weeds on Ohio's noxious weeds list in these four locations:

1. Along roadways and railroads
2. Along partition fence rows
3. On private land beyond the fence row
4. On park lands

Along roadways and railroads.  The first window just closed for mandatory mowing of noxious weeds along county and township roads.  Ohio law requires counties, townships, and municipalities to destroy all noxious weeds, brush, briers, burrs, and vines growing along roads and streets.  There are two mandated time windows for doing so:  between June 1 and 20 and between August 1 and 20.  If necessary, a cutting must also occur between September 1 and 20, or at any other time when necessary to prevent or eliminate a safety hazard.  Railroad and toll road operators have the same legal duty, and if they fail to do so, a township may cause the removal and bring a civil action to recover for removal costs.

Along partition fence rows.  Landowners in unincorporated areas of the state have a duty to cut or destroy noxious weeds and brush within four feet of a partition fence, and the law allows a neighbor to request a clearing of the fence row if a landowner hasn’t done so.  If a landowner doesn’t clear the fence row within ten days of receiving a request to clear from the neighbor, the neighbor may present a complaint to the township trustees.  The trustees must visit the property and determine whether there is a need to remove noxious weeds and if so, may order the removal and charge removal costs against the landowner’s property tax bill.  

On private land beyond the fence row.  A written notice to the township trustees that noxious weeds are growing on private land beyond the fence row will trigger another township trustee process.  The trustees must notify the landowner to destroy the weeds or show why there is no reason to do so.  If the landowner doesn’t comply within five days of receiving the notice, the trustees may arrange for destruction of the weeds.  The township may assess the costs against the landowner’s property tax bill.

On park lands.  If the township receives notice that noxious weeds are growing on park land or land owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the trustees must notify the OSU Extension Educator in the county.  Within five days, the Educator must meet with a representative of the ODNR or park land, consider ways to deal with the noxious weed issue, and share findings and recommendations with the trustees.

Even with noxious laws in place, we recommend talking before taking legal action.   If you’re worried about a noxious weed problem in your area, have a talk with the responsible party first.  Maybe the party isn’t aware of the noxious weeds, will take steps to address the problem, or has already done so.  But if talking doesn’t work, Ohio law offers a way to ensure removal of the noxious weeds before they become a bigger problem.

We explain the noxious weed laws in more detail in our law bulletin, Ohio’s Noxious Weed Laws.  We’ve also recently illustrated the procedures in a new law bulletin, Legal Procedures for Dealing with Noxious Weeds in Ohio’s Rural Areas.  Also see the OSU Agronomy Team’s recent article about poison hemlock in the latest edition of C.O.R.N, available through this link.

It’s been a busy spring for legal developments in pesticides and insecticides.  Our last article summarized recent activity surrounding dicamba products.  In today’s post we cover legal activity on glyphosate and chlorpyrifos.   

Roundup award.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt another loss to Monsanto (now Bayer) on May 14, 2021, when the court upheld a $25.3 million award against the company in Hardeman v. Monsanto.   The lower court’s decision awarded damages for personal injuries to plaintiff Edward Hardeman due to Monsanto’s knowledge and failure to warn him of the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma from Roundup exposure.  Monsanto argued unsuccessfully that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempted the plaintiff’s claim that California’s Proposition 65 law required Monsanto to include a warning about Roundup’s carcinogenic risks on its label.  That requirement, according to Monsanto, conflicted with FIFRA because the EPA had determined via a letter that a cancer warning would be considered “false and misleading” under FIFRA. The Ninth Circuit disagreed that the EPA letter preempted the California requirements.

The Court of Appeals also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the plaintiff’s expert testimony.  Monsanto had challenged testimony from a pathologist whom it alleged was not qualified to speak as an expert.  But the court agreed that the witness testimony met the standard that expert opinions be “reliably based” on epidemiological evidence.

Monsanto also challenged the damages themselves.  The award in Hardeman included $20 million in punitive damages that the district court reduced from $75 million originally awarded by the jury.  While $75 million seemed “grossly excessive,” the appellate court reasoned, $20 million did not, especially considering Monsanto’s reprehensibility, because evidence of the carcinogenic risk of glyphosate was knowable by Monsanto. 

Roundup settlement.  In a second Roundup case, a California district court last week rejected a motion to approve a $2 billion settlement by Monsanto (now Bayer) to a proposed class of users exposed to Roundup or diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have not yet filed lawsuits.  The offer by Bayer in Ramirez, et al. v. Monsanto Co. included legal services, compensation, research and assistance with non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and treatment, and changes on the Roundup label advising users of a link to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but would require class members to waive their right to sue for punitive damages if they contract non-Hodgkin lymphoma and stipulate to the opinion of a seven-member science panel about whether Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

The judge determined that the settlement would accomplish a lot for Bayer by reducing its litigation and settlement exposure, but it would greatly diminish the future settlement value of claims and “would accomplish far less for the Roundup users who have not been diagnosed with NHL (non-Hodgkin lymphoma)—and not nearly as much as the attorneys pushing this deal contend.”   The court also determined that the benefits of the medical assistance and compensation components of the settlement, to last for four years, were greatly exaggerated and vastly overstated.  The proposed stipulation to a science panel also received the court’s criticism. “The reason Monsanto wants a science panel so badly is that the company has lost the “battle of the experts” in three trials,” the court stated.  Concluding that “mere tweaks cannot salvage the agreement,” the court denied the motion for preliminary approval and advised that a new motion would be required if the parties could reach a settlement that reasonably protects the interest of Roundup users not yet diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Bayer responded to the court’s rejection immediately with a “five-point plan to effectively address potential future Roundup claims.”  The plan includes a new website with scientific studies relevant to Roundup safety; engaging partners to discuss the future of glyphosate-based producers in the U.S. lawn and garden market; alternative solutions for addressing Roundup claims including the possible use of an independent scientific advisory panel; reassessment of ongoing efforts to settle existing claims; and continuing current cases on appeal.

Chlorpyrifos.  The insecticide chlorpyrifos also had its share of legal attention this spring. Chlorpyrifos was first registered back in 1965 by Dow Chemical but its use has dropped somewhat since then. Its largest producer now is Corteva, who announced in 2020 that it would end production of its Lorsban chlorpyrifos product in 2021.  That’s good timing according to the strongly worded decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in late April that the EPA must either revoke or modify all food residue tolerances for chlorpyrifos within sixty days. 

The plaintiffs in the case of League of United Latin American Citizens v. Regan originally requested a review of the tolerances in 2007 based on the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which addresses pesticide residues in or on a food.  FFDCA requires EPA to establish or continue a tolerance level for food pesticide residues only if the tolerance is safe and must modify or rescind a tolerance level that is not safe.  Plaintiffs claimed the tolerances for chlorpyrifos are not safe based upon evidence of neurotoxic effects of the pesticide on children.  They asked the EPA to modify or rescind the tolerances.  The EPA denied the request, although that decision came ten years later in 2017 after the agency repeatedly refused to make a decision on the safety of the product.  The Obama Administration had announced that it would ban chlorpyrifos, but the Trump Administration reversed that decision in 2017.

Plaintiffs objected to the EPA’s decision not to change or revoke chlorpyrifos tolerance, arguing that the agency should have first made a scientific finding on the safety of the product.  The EPA again rejected the argument, which led to the Ninth Circuit’s recent review.  The Ninth Circuit concluded that the EPA had wrongfully denied the petition, as it contained sufficient evidence indicating that a review of the chlorpyrifos tolerance levels was necessary.  The EPA’s denial of the petition for review was “arbitrary and capricious,” according to the court.  “The EPA has sought to evade, through one delaying tactic after another, its plain statutory duties,” the court stated. 

More to come.  While the spring held many legal developments in pesticide law, the rest of the year will see more decisions.  The Roundup litigation is far from over, and the same can be said for dicamba.  How will the EPA under the new administration handle pesticide review and registration, and the court's order to address chlorpyrifos tolerances?  Watch here for these and other legal issues with pesticides that will outlive the spring.