Happy Friday and Happy Independence Day to everyone!  We’ve got a number of ag law issues to cover in today’s Weekly Round Up.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

*EPA to revise WOTUS rule by September 1 to comply with SCOTUS decision in Sackett v. EPA.   The EPA announced it will issue a revised final WOTUS Rule by September 1 in light of the US Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA.  As you recall from this blog post and this podcast episode, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the “significant nexus test” was not the proper method to determine jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.  The EPA will modify its current rule accordingly.  [Read statement here.]

*Lawsuit challenges registration of Enlist One and Enlist Duo.  The Center for Biological Diversity has filed suit in federal court in Washington, DC, challenging the EPA’s registration for Enlist One and Enlist Duo from January of last year, which extended the registration for seven additional years.  The lawsuit claims that the EPA violated FIFRA and the Endangered Species Act by allowing for this extended registration. [Read Complaint here and article here.]

*USDA announces effort to strengthen substantiation of animal-raising claims.  The USDA recently announced it is implementing a new effort to strengthen the substantiation of animal-raising claims such as “grass fed,” “free range,” or “antibiotic free.”  These voluntary marketing claims must be approved by USDA prior to being included on meat and poultry labels.  USDA will issue a revised industry guideline to recommend companies strengthen the supporting documentation they provide to make such claims, and USDA plans to “strongly encourage” use of third-party certification to verify claims.  [Read press release here.]

*Complaint filed challenging “wood milk” advertisement.  The organization Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine has filed a complaint with USDA claiming that an advertising campaign funded by checkoff dollars involving “wood milk” violates US commodity marketing laws by criticizing plant-based milks.  The complaint seeks the USDA retract and investigate the approval process for this campaign. [Read complaint here.]

*Current state of carbon market policies.  My friend, Dr. Jordan Shockley, recently wrote an article discussing the current state of carbon markets in the US.  Jordan is one of the foremost experts in this area in the country, so he offers some great insight here.  He also came on my podcast to discuss the same topic, and you can listen here.