It has been a very busy couple of weeks for agricultural law around the country.  Here are some of the biggest stories in the news.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

*Texas landowners argue takings case at United States Supreme Court.  This week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Devillier v. Texas.  The lawsuit involves claims by rural landowners who claim Texas’ expansion of I-10 east of Houston resulted in flooding that constitutes a taking of their private property for which they are entitled to just compensation.  At issue in the case is a more technical question of whether the Plaintiffs have a claim under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  [Read article here.] We will have a full blog post on this case on Monday.

*Railroad Commission suspends saltwater disposal injection in West Texas.  Last month, the Texas Railroad Commission suspended 23 saltwater disposal injection permits in Reeves and Culberson Counties due to increased seismic activity in the region. [View Response here.]  The Railroad Commission acted after 7 earthquakes in the area between November 8 and December 17, 2023.  The Railroad Commission stated that saltwater injection wells are “likely” contributing to seismic activity.  [Read article here.]

*Texas water provider sues groundwater conservation district.  Aqua Texas, Inc., has filed suit against the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) in an ongoing dispute between the parties.  The HTGCD issued a $449,000 fine for over pumping and said they would not renew permits for 2024 if the fines were not paid.  [Read article here.]

*Court reverses Clean Water Act penalty.  The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a $500,000 Clean Water Act penalty imposed on a Colorado gold mining company for wastewater discharges in holding ponds.  The trial court, applying four of the factors listed by the US Supreme Court in Maui County, found that the discharges from the ponds were “functionally equivalent” to a direct discharge, requiring a permit.  The Tenth Circuit reversed, finding that the trial court failed to consider all of the relevant Maui County factors and remanding the case for such consideration.  [Read Opinion here.]

*Court reinstates Iowa “ag gag” statute provisions.  The United States Court of Appeals has reinstated two provisions of Iowa’s “ag gag” statute that a lower court previously struck as unconstitutional.  [Read Opinion here.]

*EPA will restore tolerances for chlorpyrifos for eleven crops.  The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will allow the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on eleven crops after the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an EPA rule revoking all food tolerances.  Specifically, the EPA will allow chlorpyrifos on alfalfa, apple, asparagus, tart cherries, citrus, cotton, peaches, soybeans, strawberries, sugar beets, and wheat.  [Read EPA Statement here.]

*Court denied Motion to Dismiss lawsuit in right to repair lawsuit against Deere & Co.  The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied Deere & Co.’s Motion to Dismiss in a lawsuit filed by farmers alleging Deere & Co.’s non-competitive behavior related to the right-to-repair equipment.  Judge Johnston found that the Plaintiffs have standing and sufficiently pled all necessary requirements for their claims.  [Read Order here.]

*Preparing for the 4 D’s on the farm or ranch.  My friend, Erin Herbold-Swalwell, recently published an article offering tips to farm and ranch families to plan for the 4D’s (death, divorce, disability, and disagreement) in their operations.  [Read article here.]

Upcoming Presentations

Next week, I will be  on the road to speak at an Extension meeting in Tucumcari, New Mexico on Tuesday and at the Caprock Crops Conference in Muncy, TX on Thursday.  My complete list of upcoming presentations is available here.