Tuesday, July 7, 2015

American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA

<> American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA - 7/6/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Case No. 13-4079. In this high interest case involving many states and trade associations including Michigan, parties challenge EPA's "total maximum daily load" (TMDL) of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment that can be released into the Chesapeake Bay.
     Challengers allege that all aspects of the TMDL that go beyond an allowable sum of pollutants (i.e., the most nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment the Bay can safely absorb per day) exceeded the scope of the EPA's authority to regulate, largely because the agency may intrude on states' traditional role in regulating land use.
     The District Court ruled against Farm Bureau, and challengers and the Appeals Court sided with EPA and affirmed the District Court's ruling.