The Changing Environmental Regulatory Landscape for Agriculture By Alan Hahn
IN THE FALL OF 2015, WE WROTE, “ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ARE COMPLICATED; THEY ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING, AND THEIR APPLICABILITY TO AGRICULTURE, ESPECIALLY LARGER OPERATIONS, IS INCREASINGLY UNAVOIDABLE” (PARTNERS, FALL 2015). THE INK WAS BARELY DRY ON THAT ISSUE WHEN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS DID WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS DO – THEY CHANGED. WITH THESE CHANGES IN MIND, THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATE ON REGULATIONS AFFECTING AGRICULTURE, AS WELL AS AN OBSERVATION ON A POTENTIAL EXTERNAL INFLUENCING FACTOR.
9
Fall 2017 — Partners
Waters of the United States, aka: WOTUS
In our 2015 update, we shared that the “final” WOTUS rule had been published on June 29, 2015. The 800-page final rule set out to clarify the definition of a regulated water under the Clean Water Act. It was widely criticized, and legal action quickly followed. Shortly after the final WOTUS rule was published, it was stayed (on Oct. 9, 2015) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the sixth district. Defining what is and is not a water of the United States has been debated and contended for just about as long as I have been working in the environmental business (well, maybe not that long). There have been three different U.S. Supreme Court Rulings related to WOTUS. My colleagues provided scientific support for one of those rulings (Rapanos).