EPA
Groups ask USDA for stronger rules on scientific integrity
WOTUS challenge to be decided by Cincinnati court
The U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati claimed jurisdiction to decide the legal challenges to the EPA's "Waters of the United States" regulation, which defines the upstream reach of clean water laws, reports DTN.
Pesticide registrants vow to fight EPA plan to bar use
The government is moving ahead to cancel the registrations for flubendiamide, a pesticide sold under the trade name Belt, with Bayer CropScience and Nichino America vowing to fight the decision, says Agri-Pulse.
Uphill battle in Congress against WOTUS
Opponents of the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule issued by EPA face difficult odds in Congress, says DTN, citing a Library of Congress study on legislative options for derailing regulations. The study said lawmakers could pass bills that restrict or deny funding to EPA to enforce the rule, propose a stand-alone bill to overturn the rule or amend the clean water law to de-fang WOTUS.
Winter beach party
Much of DC is snowbound but the party spirit abides. On a nighttime dog walk, the Insider found a sedate celebration in a driveway apron cleared of snow. Several neighbors sat in lawn chairs around a fire pit. Trays holding adult beverages were stabbed into the snowy walls and a portable music player sat on a car trunk.
EPA changed view on Dow herbicide safety
En route to approving the herbicide 2,4-D for use on new GMO strains of corn and soybeans, EPA scientists "changed their analysis of a pivotal rat study by Dow, tossing aside signs of kidney trouble that Dow researchers said were caused by 2,4-D," said an investigative report in the Chicago Tribune.
U.S. ethanol output down 5 percent in a week
The Energy Department said ethanol production fell by a record-matching 5.2 percent, to 956,000 barrels a day last week, a far larger decline than expected by traders, said Agrimoney.
GMO crops – rapid adoption, perennial dispute
Looking back nearly two decades to the commercial introduction of GMO crops in 1996, Monsanto executive vice president Robb Fraley says the avid adoption by farmers of the technology exceeded his expectations. "They've been the fastest-adopted tool in the history of agriculture," Fraley told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He also said, "I wouldn’t have believed in 1980 (the dawn of genetic engineering) that we’d still be talking about GMO crops and still having some of the controversies that we face today."
Senate tries legislative veto of Clean Water rule
On a party line vote of 53-44, the Senate passed a resolution to ditch an EPA regulation that defines the upstream reach of the Clean Water Act. The resolution, the first step in a so-called legislative veto, now goes to the Republican-controlled House. To succeed, it must be passed by the House and signed by the White House, which threatened a veto. The vote on the SJR 22 was little different from the 55-43 vote on Tuesday to open debate on the resolution, sponsored by Iowa Sen Joni Ernst. Only one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted against the resolution and three Democrats - Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia - voted for it.
Foes try new route after WOTUS attack fails
The Senate could vote as early as today on a "legislative veto" of the Obama administration's "waters of the United States" regulation after Democrats thwarted a bill calling for EPA to rewrite the rule. Farm groups have taken the lead in attacking WOTUS, which defines the upstream reach of the Clean Water Act, as a power grab wrapped in the guise of federal jurisdiction of navigable waters. With 60 votes needed, an attempt failed, 57-41, to bring the WOTUS bill to debate. Sponsored by Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, the bill would instruct EPA to start over on WOTUS and give it instructions on how to write the new version.
Backers ask, ‘Will EPA hit re-set on biofuel targets?’
With the EPA nearing a decision on the biofuel mandate for 2015 and 2016, ethanol makers and corn farmers worry that the agency could trigger an override of ambitious targets written into law for ever-increasing use of renewable fuels through 2022. The so-called re-set, also referred to as an "off ramp," would give the agency the discretion to set the yearly targets at whatever levels it chooses.
Appeals court vacates EPA approval of ‘neonic’ sulfoxaflor
Ethanol mandate is too large, says oil industry
NERA Economic Consulting, in a study commissioned by the oil industry, concluded that the ethanol mandate set by law is too large to be absorbed at current fuel usage by cars and light trucks.
Water utilities battle nitrate pollution from farms
EPA surveys have shown that chemicals draining from crop fields have become the leading source of pollution in U.S. rivers and lakes. Because many municipalities source drinking water from these rivers and lakes, the issue has gotten contentious.
Carly Fiorina calls out EPA over California agriculture
Over the weekend, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina told 150 farmers at the Iowa Corn Growers annual conference that federal regulatory malfeasance is destroying agriculture in California, reports the Des Moines Register.
EPA begins enforcing clean-water rule
The EPA began enforcing its clean-water rule in all states except the 13 that had sued to block it, The Hill reported.
U.S. judge blocks implementation of clear-water rule
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson issued a preliminary injunction against the EPA's so-called Waters of the United States rule one day before it was due to take effect, reports Agri-Pulse.
Clinton: Focus the farm safety net on family operations
As president, Hillary Clinton says she would focus the farm safety net - crop supports, crop insurances and disaster relief - on "farmers and ranchers that truly need it the most, not those who have the biggest businesses or the best connections. We will change the formula."