Happy March! We are here with another rundown of some of the biggest agricultural law stories in the news from the past couple of weeks.
Photo by Karli Kaase.
* Treasury department announces suspension of Corporate Transparency Act reporting for US citizens and domestic companies. It would not be a weekly round up if we did not include news about the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The US Department of Treasury announced that it will not be enforcing or assessing penalties for those failing to comply with the reporting requirements of the CTA at this time. The Department is working to issue a new rule that will no longer require US citizens or domestic companies to file beneficial ownership reports under the CTA. [Read press release here.]
* USDA announces new emergency aid program for farmers. The USDA announced a new $10 billion economic aid program, Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (“ECAP”). The program will provide economic aid to commodity farmers. The $20.8 billion in natural disaster aid that was previously passed will also be distributed through the ECAP program according to Secretary Brooke Rollins. [Read article here.]
* Lawsuit filed against USDA’s predator control program in Texas. The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the USDA in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas claiming the USDA’s predator damage management program is illegal. They claim the program was authorized based on outdated and improper data, and that it has harmful results particularly for mountain lions and black bears. [Read Complaint here.]
* Maryland court holds spray irrigation not “functional equivalent” of direct surface water discharged under Clean Water Act. A Maryland state court recently ruled that spray irrigation is not a “functional equivalent” to a direct surface water discharge under the Clean Water Act. You may recall previously in County of Maui that the US Supreme Court held that direct discharges as well as those discharges that are a “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge are covered by the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirement. This is ruling is important for spray irrigators in that the court found they were not required to comply with the CWA permitting requirement. [Read decision here.] For more information on County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund and the “functional equivalent test” read this blog post and listen to this podcast episode.
* Why all adults need a HIPAA authorization form. My friend and Aggie alum, Cari Rincker, published a great article explaining why all adults should have a HIPAA authorization form if they want anyone else to be able to access their medical information. Note, this differs from appointing someone to make medical decisions on your behalf as your Medical Power of Attorney. [Read article here and listen to my podcast episode with Andy Crocker on end-of-life documents here.]
* 7 steps young farmers can take to minimize risk. My friend and Iowa-based attorney, Erin Herbold-Swalwell, wrote a great article offering 7 steps young farmers can take to minimize risk. Frankly, most of these steps apply to the young and more seasoned of us alike! [Read article here.]
Upcoming Presentations
I’ll be out next week with my kids who will be showing a lamb at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo! You can see my full list of upcoming presentations here.
