Category Archives: WOTUS

May 1, 2020 Weekly Round Up

Posted on May 1, 2020 by tiffany.dowell

Happy May Day to all! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Here are some of the biggest ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Navigable Waters Protection Rule is published. The WOTUS saga continues. The Trump administration’s definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, newly named “Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” was published in the Federal Register on April 21. I’ll have a blog post discussing the details soon, but for now if you want to read… Read More →

US Supreme Court Decides Maui County Clean Water Act Case

Posted on April 27, 2020 by tiffany.dowell

The much-anticipated United States Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund was released last week. It is a fascinating decision that results in the Court adopting a “functional equivalent” test. [Click here.] Background Under the federal Clean Water Act, it is unlawful to discharge a pollutant from a point source into a Water of the United States without obtaining a federal permit. The question before the US Supreme Court is whether a permit is required when pollutants originate from a point source, but travel through… Read More →

January 24, 2020 Weekly Round Up

Posted on January 23, 2020 by tiffany.dowell

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in agricultural law. It has also been busy for my speaking schedule! Welcome to those of you joining from my programs in Palestine, Carthage, Amarillo, Lubbock, and Floydata. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news. *TDA published proposed Texas hemp regulation. The Texas Department of Agriculture has published its proposed Texas hemp regulation. [View proposed regulation here.] Importantly, this is not a final regulation as it has not yet been adopted by TDA. On January 22, a… Read More →

December 20, 2019 Weekly Round Up

Posted on December 20, 2019 by tiffany.dowell

One last ag law fix before we head off into the Holidays! Here are some of the ag law stories making news over the last couple of weeks. *WOTUS: The gift that keeps on giving. As has become tradition around here, Shannon Ferrell and I close out the year writing about the current status of WOTUS. If you’re curious where things currently stand, we’ve got you covered. Just click here for our recent article in Southwest Farm Press. *Comment period for USDA Final Interim Hemp Rule extended. The… Read More →

November 1, 2019 Weekly Round Up

Posted on November 1, 2019 by tiffany.dowell

Happy Halloween! Here is a look at how trick or treating in went in my house with our unicorn and feed sack. Here are a few ag law stories in the news over the past couple of week. *USDA released Interim Final Hemp Rule. The much-anticipated USDA rule related to hemp production was released on Wednesday. To read my summary of the proposed rule, click here. Also, Dr. Justin Benavidez wrote a great summary of some of the economic info included in the “costs and benefits” section… Read More →

September 20, 2019 Weekly Round Up

Posted on September 20, 2019 by tiffany.dowell

Hello and Happy Friday! I want to welcome those of you joining us from our recent Owning Your Piece of Texas program in College Station and our Ranchers Leasing Workshop in Ft. Worth. Also, welcome to those of you from Goliad County where I beamed in for a program yesterday. Here are some ag law stories in the news the past couple of weeks. *2015 WOTUS Rule Repealed. You may have seen in the news that the EPA has issued the final rule repealing the 2015 WOTUS definition. … Read More →

May 31, 2019 Weekly Round Up

Posted on May 31, 2019 by tiffany.dowell

We’ve reached the end of May…I’m not sure how time goes so quickly. Here are a few ag law stories in the news recently. *Texas judge finds 2015 WOTUS Rule violated Administrative Procedures Act. A federal judge here in Texas found that the 2015 WOTUS rule violated the Administrative Procedures Act. Specifically, the judge found that the proposed rule, for which public comment was allowed, differed too greatly from the final rule. In other words, because there were portions of the final rule that were significantly modified from… Read More →

February 22, 2019 Weekly Round Up

Posted on February 22, 2019 by tiffany.dowell

Happy Friday and happy FFA week! I, like many of you, credit FFA for so much of my success in my life and career. I hope you take a moment to think back on what FFA has given you and think about ways you might be able to give back to the organization. I also want to say a special welcome to those of you who are joining us after attending the Central Texas Farm Credit diner in Haskell this week. It was an honor to speak with… Read More →

2018 Ag Law Year in Review

Posted on December 17, 2018 by tiffany.dowell

Well, it’s been quite a year for agricultural law! Looking back, it has been interesting to see the variety of legal issues that have come up in the last 365 days. From a major class action settlement by Syngenta to new electronic logging device rules to nuisance litigation in North Carolina, there are numerous issues of which agricultural producers should be aware. If you want to hear more about these topics, Paul Goeringer and I did a Year in Review joint podcast. You can listen here. {Since we… Read More →

December 14, 2018 Weekly Round Up

Posted on December 14, 2018 by tiffany.dowell

I didn’t think it was possible, but this may have been the busiest week for ag law news of the entire year! Here are some of the major stories making headlines this week. * Congress passes Farm Bill, now on President Trump’s desk. Congress has passed a new Farm Bill. The bill was approved by the Senate on Tuesday and was passed by a landslide–the most votes ever in favor of a Farm Bill–in the House on Wednesday. The bill is now on President Trump’s desk, and it is… Read More →