Overview On March 12, 2025, as part of a major effort of deregulation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Corps of Engineers (COE)) took measures to clarify outstanding issues regarding the interpretation and implementation of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) […]Read more »
Environmental Law
125 posts
Overview The Clean Water Act (CWA) imposes upon the federal government the responsibility for eliminating pollution from point sources by establishing federal restrictions on discharges of pollutants from these sources and enforcing them by means of a federal permit system. This federal permit system, known as the National Pollutant Discharge […]Read more »
Overview With this article I have reached what I view as the “Top 3” ag law and tax developments of 2024. These are the most important in terms of their anticipated application to the agricultural sector as a whole. Number 3 – The Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Rule. The […]Read more »
Overview This is the second installment of my annual “Top Ten” list of the biggest developments in agricultural law and taxation in 2024. This time it’s numbers seven through four. 7. Waters of the United States. In this case, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that the defendant discharged “pollutants” […]Read more »
Overview The U.S. Federal District Court of the D.C. District has held that the failure of the Biden Administration to stop construction on the U.S./Mexico border wall and the termination of the Trump Administration “Remain in Mexico” policy is a violation of federal environmental law. In so holding the court […]Read more »
Overview Digital contracts are becoming more common for farmers and ranchers. That means there are some unique legal issues that might arise. The first part of today’s article takes a brief look at what those might be. An estate planning tool in light of the uncertainty of whether the Trump […]Read more »
Overview Agricultural law and taxation is very dynamic. It deals with real issues facing farmers and ranchers and isn’t just legal theory that one sits around and contemplates – it’s reality. With today’s article, I look at a few more common issues facing farmers, ranchers and rural landowners in general. […]Read more »
Overview I have started a new Substack that contains the “Rural Practice Digest.” You can access it at mceowenaglawandtax.substack.com. While I will post other content from time-to-time that is available without a paid subscription, the Digest is for paid subscribers. The inaugural edition is 22 pages in length and covers […]Read more »
Cranberry Bogs and the Clean Water Act Courte Oreilles Lakes Association, Inc. v. Zawistowski, No. 3:24-cv-00128 (W.D. Wis. Filed Feb. 28, 2024) The Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of pollutants from a fixed point into a water of the United States. Not regulated is water runoff from irrigation activities […]Read more »
Overview My blog article of February 11 discussed the Arizona federal district court opinion vacating the registrations of three Dicamba products. Since then, the EPA made an “existing stocks” ruling that will help some producers through the 2024 growing season. That makes an update in order. Updated Dicamba information – […]Read more »