Should Rural Landowners be Worried about PFAS?
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How worried should farmers and rural landowners be about PFAS liability?
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The Schroeder Ag Blog addresses issues facing farmers, ranchers, and businesses involved with livestock, dairy, and meat production.
WOTUS, Yet Again.
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One area of law refuses to stay consistent from year to year—Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The EPA and Army Corps recently amended a rule (mostly) in alignment with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.
Read MoreSCOTUS Limits Federal Agency Power
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In an environmental ruling that will also impact agricultural government agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Clean Air Act did not give the EPA broad authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Read MoreSackett Part 2: What is a Wetland, Anyway?
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Whether land is a “wetland” covered by the Clean Water Act is a perennial issue for farmers and developers. Now the Supreme Court is taking that question up—will we finally get a solid answer?
Read MoreNew Roadmap to Address PFAS
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This month, the Biden Administration announced a new plan to combat PFAS contamination. This federal roadmap will impact agricultural producers, especially dairy farms near military bases.
Read MorePredictions for WOTUS under President Biden
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We are about one month away from a change in presidential administrations. The Biden administration will likely bring many obvious changes to the federal government, but will it impact whether the government has jurisdiction over ground or waters on your property? In other words, will the Biden government seek to change the definition of WOTUS?
Read MoreDicamba Confusion - Update!
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The EPA is defending its decision to allow farmers and commercial applicators to use “existing stocks” of three Dicamba products (XtendiMax, Engenia, and FeXapan) even though it recently cancelled the registration of those herbicides.
Read MoreDicamba Confusion
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On June 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the EPA registration of three dicamba herbicides. After five days, the EPA issued a cancellation order for the chemicals. The agency will permit growers and commercial applicators to use existing stocks of the herbicides.
Read MoreWOTUS Changes....Again
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The Trump administration released its new Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) on January 23, 2020. This blog explores how that change affects US agriculture.
Read MoreGroundwater as a Point Source?
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The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral argument this fall regarding whether the discharge of pollutants through groundwater requires an NPDES permit.
Read MoreDairy Farm PFAS Contamination
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A New Mexico dairy farmer has been in the news lately, and it isn’t good news. He is dumping milk, letting employees go, and terminating cows because his dairy is contaminated with PFAS, a dangerous family of man-made chemicals that have seeped into the groundwater from a nearby Air Force base.
Read MoreWOTUS Rule Back On (For Now)
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In the constant back and forth of numerous court cases across the country, regulatory action, and congressional posturing, it can be hard to keep track of what waters the EPA has jurisdiction over any more. Most recently, a federal district court in South Carolina issued an order striking a rule that would delay implementation of the 2015 WOTUS definition.
Read MoreOmnibus Bill Removes Livestock Air Emissions Reporting Requirement
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The 2018 federal omnibus spending bill fixed the problem caused by a federal court regarding air emissions reporting requirements for livestock operations.
Read MoreWhat are Others Saying about Air Emissions Reporting?
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A federal court stayed the mandate requiring many livestock producers to report air emissions from manure until January 22, 2018. We are awaiting further guidance from EPA. In the meantime, here is what others are saying.
Read MoreLivestock Air Emissions Reporting: What's Next?
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Livestock producers are not yet required to report air emissions under the Clean Air Act, but that will soon change. On January 22, 2018, this new obligation for farms is expected to take effect.
Read MoreWhat does Trump mean for EPA's Waters of the US Rule?
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During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump indicated he would gut the EPA and vastly reduce the number and scope of federal regulations. Now that Trump has been elected, what can we expect from his administration on the Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule that is currently in legal limbo?
Read MorePesticide Drift Liability
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Pesticide drift is the unintentional application of pesticide or herbicide. Pesticide drift can become a problem if the pesticide contacts an area or crop susceptible to the particular substance being used. There are several steps a farmer can take to prevent pesticide drift, and steps to be taken after pesticide drift allegedly already has occurred.
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Ten years ago American Farm Bureau published the Privacy and Security Principles for Farm Data. In 2024, these “Core Principles” for use of ag data have been updated.