Scott Yager is the environmental counsel for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Jamie Johansen had the opportunity to talk with him at the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show. There are many opportunities with the new administration, Yager told Jamie. This is a time for the NCBA to find out what it’s members are looking for because … Read More
Supreme Court To Hear WOTUS Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether jurisdiction rests with the federal district or appellate courts to hear a lawsuit brought by several agricultural organizations, businesses and municipalities against the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, a Clean Water Act rule that would give the government broad jurisdiction over land and water. “The WOTUS rule is vague, … Read More
NCBA & PLC File Opening Brief in WOTUS Legal Battle
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC), along with other industry and municipal stakeholders, filed the opening brief in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals calling for the EPA and the Army Corps’ “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule to be invalidated. Tracy Brunner, NCBA president and Kansas cattle producer said subjectivity and egregious … Read More
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Address Endangered Species Act
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a final rule that begins to address rampant abuse of the Endangered Species Act listing process. The rule limits petitions for new listings to one species and will require more substantive justification in order to file a petition for listing under the ESA. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council … Read More
Senate Highlights EPA Enforcement of WOTUS
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has released a report highlighting examples of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) illegally asserting jurisdiction over features that are traditionally exempt from the Clean Water Act. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is continuing their nationwide stay on enforcement of EPA’s “waters of the United States” final rule, but according to this … Read More
NPPC, Farm Bureau Win FOIA Case Against EPA
A federal appeals court overruled a lower court decision to throw out a lawsuit brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against the EPA over its release to environmental groups of personal information on tens of thousands of farmers. In late 2015, a U.S. district court dismissed the NPPC-Farm Bureau suit for lack of … Read More
NMPF Endorses Legislation Exempting Farms from RCRA
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has expressed support for new bipartisan legislation introduced in the House of Representatives that clarifies the exemption of dairy farms and other livestock producers from being subject to the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA was enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1976 to set forth a framework for the … Read More
NCC Calls for Reduction of 2017 Ethanol Levels
The National Chicken Council (NCC) has stated their support for recent efforts to create a more reasonable and sustainable approach to the nation’s biofuel fuel policy. The organization believes that the diversion of corn from feed to fuel exacts a heavy toll on U.S. chicken producers, as well as American consumers, at the pump and the plate. “NCC believes the … Read More
NCC Voices Concern Over 2017 RFS Proposal
The National Chicken Council (NCC) expressed concern following The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release earlier this week of the proposed 2017 biofuel required volume obligation (RVO) under the renewable fuel standard (RFS), which will require refiners to blend up to 18.8 billion gallons of biofuels into the U.S. fuel supply next year. The mandate for conventional corn-based ethanol was proposed … Read More
House Ag Committee Holds Hearing On #WOTUS
The House of Representatives Agriculture Committee held a hearing today regarding the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) actions on the rural economy. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy was the hearing’s sole witness. The hearing showed a continued broad opposition to the controversial “Waters of the United States” Rule (WOTUS), which already is faced with a number of legal challenges … Read More