LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN

May 30, 2023

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Supreme Court Limits Scope of “Wetlands” Considered Jurisdictional Waters of the U.S.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday issued its highly-anticipated ruling in Sackett v. EPA, significantly limiting the extent to which wetlands may be considered “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and thus under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers.

Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the EPA and Corps have jurisdiction over “Waters of the United States,” which includes not only waterways which may affect interstate or foreign commerce, but also “wetlands adjacent” to those waters.

The EPA and Corps have typically determined whether a wetland is jurisdictionally ‘adjacent’ by examining whether it has a “significant nexus” to traditional navigable waters. Under federal regulations, the agencies find that a “significant nexus” exists when wetlands “significantly affect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity” of those traditional navigable waters.

All nine justices agreed that the “significant nexus” test should be discarded, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that “‘almost all waters and wetlands’ are potentially susceptible to regulation under that test” and this “freewheeling inquiry provides little notice to landowners of their obligations under the CWA.”

While the justices were unanimous in overturning the “significant nexus” test, the Court was split on the appropriate standard for determining whether a wetland falls under the jurisdiction of the EPA and Corps. Ultimately, a bare majority of justices determined that jurisdictional wetlands are limited to those which have “a continuous surface connection” with a traditional navigable water, “making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.”

According to CCA’s national partner the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, “In practice, this likely means that isolated wetlands and other ephemeral features may not be subject to federal CWA permitting requirements.” The ruling will likely also necessitate revisions to the Biden Administration’s recent WOTUS Rule, which is partly rooted in the “significant nexus” test. According to NCBA, “the Biden rule is still theoretically in effect, but EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers will no longer assess CWA jurisdiction under the significant nexus test.”

AB 554 Shelved for the Year After CCA & Broad Coalition Rally Opposition
Following an outpouring of opposition from a coalition of animal agriculture groups and other animal caretakers – and mere days after CCA members lobbied against the bill in Sacramento at the Association’s lobby day – legislation that would have allowed radical animal rights groups to weaponize civil courts against livestock producers in California was shelved for the year. AB 554 (Gabriel) would have allowed anti-animal-agriculture activists to sue cattle ranchers and dairy farmers for alleged animal cruelty in civil court, opening the door to meritless, agenda-driven lawsuits. A coalition of animal agriculture and other stewards of animals, including CCA and Western United Dairies, rallied substantial opposition to the bill, forcing the author to turn AB 554 into a two-year bill, meaning legislators won’t have an opportunity to vote on the bill until 2024.

Sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, AB 554 would allow a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to bring a civil complaint alleging a violation of “any law relating to or affecting animals.” Because California law allows any 20 citizens to incorporate as an SPCA, the bill would be easily weaponized by those who oppose animal agriculture. Current law rightly entrusts the state’s criminal courts and district attorneys to enforce laws ensuring the health and safety of animals in the state.

For more information on the dangers of AB 554, read the coalition’s opposition letter, here.

Newsom Issues Additional Executive Order Addressing Ongoing Central Valley Flooding
In mid-May, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order aimed at mitigating Tulare Lake Basin and San Joaquin River Basin flooding which could result from historic Sierra Nevada snowmelt. The order permits diversion of flood flows within the basins through August 31 and clarifies the conditions under which diversion may be made. Newsom’s order also enabled activation of the Kern River Intertie, allowing Kern River water to be diverted to the California Aqueduct to prevent further flooding within the Tulare Lake Basin. In addition to the Executive Order, Newsom has introduced budget trailer bill language which would amend state law to permanently authorize the diversion of flood flows for groundwater recharge, when such flows are present. For further information, see last week’s edition of Legislative Bulletin.

Newsom Unveils Proposal to Streamline Infrastructure Projects
Earlier this month, Governor Newsom unveiled a series of proposals to streamline the “building of clean infrastructure so California can reach its world-leading climate goals while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.” Newsom’s proposals seek to accelerate the permitting process for clean infrastructure projects and to limit delays caused by judicial reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (under Newsom’s proposal, legal challenges under CEQA would need to be resolved in 270 days, limiting delays related to judicial review). According to a press release for the Governor’s Office, the proposals will streamline projects including “Water storage projects funded by Proposition 1” and the “Delta Conveyance Project.” For additional details, see last week’s edition of Legislative Bulletin.

SWRCB Extends Scott and Shasta River Watershed Curtailment Suspensions Through June 30
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) announced last week that it has extended suspensions of curtailments within the Scott River and Shasta River watersheds through at least June 30 so long as applicable minimum flow standards are maintained.

Minimum flows required to continue suspension of curtailments for the Scott River watershed, as measured at the Fort Jones gage, are 150 cubic feet per second (cfs) through tomorrow, 125 cfs from June 1-23 and 90s cfs from June 23-30.

Within the Shasta River watershed, curtailments are suspended for all water rights with a priority date of April 1, 1912 or earlier. For more junior water rights, suspension of curtailments is conditioned upon two factors: (1) sustained minimum flows of at least 50 cfs as measured at the Yreka gage and (2) “parties with suspended curtailments working with the Watermaster and [SWRCB] as appropriate to manage flows.”

Curtailment orders were previously fully rescinded for the Russian River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watersheds.

New Episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast
A New episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast is out now. At CCA’s Feeder Meeting, Katie sat down with CCA’s Feeder Council Chair Joe Dan Cameron. Tune in as they discuss current issues and concerns from cattle feeders in California. To listen to the episode click here.

UCCE and UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Spring 2023 Cattle Health Webinar Series Recordings Now Available
University of California Cooperative Extension and UC Davis Veterinary Medicine are sharing recordings of their spring 2023 cattle health webinar series for California cattle ranchers. This series was co-hosted by UC Cooperative Extension advisors Tracy Schohr, Grace Woodmansee and Rebecca Ozeran and UC Cooperative Extension specialist Dr. Gabriele Maier.

The video recordings and additional resources from the webinar series can be found at ucanr.edu/sites/Rangelands/CattleHealth. The video topics and featured speakers include:

Time to Help During Calving – Dr. Brett McNabb & Dr. Gabriele Maier, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Mystery of Calf Abortions – Dr. Brett McNabb, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Bugging Beef – Internal Parasites – Dr. Grace VanHoy, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Heather Fritz, California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab
Bugging Beef – External Parasites – Dr. Alec Gerry, UC Professor of Veterinary Entomology and Extension Specialist
The webinars and resources from the 2022 Spring Cattle Health Webinar series

For questions or suggestions on future topics, please contact Schohr at tkschohr@ucanr.edu.

Upcoming CCA Events

Midyear Meeting
June 21-22, Paso Robles, CA, Paso Robles Inn
Registration for Midyear Meeting is now open! To register, click here. The last day to pre-register is Wed., June 14. All registration prices will be increased onsite. No registration refunds will be given after Wed., May 31.

The California Cattlemen’s Association Room block at the Paso Robles Inn is open. To make your reservations call (805) 238-2660 and mention “California Cattlemen’s Association.” Further registration details and the tentative schedule can be found here.

CCA Cattle-PAC Auction + Dinner
Sept. 16, Paso Robles, CA

Upcoming Industry Events

2023 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting
July 24-26, 2023, Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA
Registration for the 2023 Cattle Industry Supper Business Meeting is now open. To register, click here. To view the agenda, click here.

NCBA Webinar: Understanding Implant Guidance from the FDA and the Value of Reimplanting
June 1, 7pm Central
NCBA Producer Education Series is hosting a virtual webinar on understanding implant guidance from the FDA and the value of reimplanting. To register for the webinar, click here.

CCA in the News

Under a California bill, SPCAs could sue ranchers and rodeos Agri-Pulse “‘Despite California having the highest animal welfare standards in the nation, there exist individuals and groups within the state of California who simply believe that animal agriculture itself constitutes abuse,’ testified Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs at the California Cattlemen’s Association. ‘Some of these groups go to extreme lengths to disrupt ranching activity. Some will steal animals off farms and ranches under the euphemism of open rescue.’” To continue reading, click here.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Cattle Industry Groups Strongly Support the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act Oklahoma Farm Report “California Cattlemen’s Association President Steve Arnold: “The wellness and care of cattle is not taken lightly by California ranching families and cattle producers throughout the U.S. We thank California Rep. Jim Costa and Congress for also making animal health a priority with the bipartisan support of the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act.” To continue reading, click here.

Industry News

Cattle Producers Rejoice in Supreme Court Ruling on WOTUS CaseNCBA “Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Sackett family in Sackett v. EPA – the court’s most recent consideration of which features are subject to federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction. In its holding, the court soundly rejected the contentious “significant nexus” test. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) strongly supports this ruling and is currently engaged in a litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the Biden Administration’s WOTUS definition. ” To continue reading, click here.

Lab-Grown Meat’s Carbon Footprint Potentially Worse Than Retail Beef U.C. Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences “Lab-grown meat, which is cultured from animal cells, is often thought to be more environmentally friendly than beef because it’s predicted to need less land, water and greenhouse gases than raising cattle. But in a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that lab-grown or ‘cultivated’ meat’s environmental impact is likely to be ‘orders of magnitude’ higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.” To continue reading, click here.

Federal court rejects push to block fire retardant use to fight wildfires The San Joaquin Valley Sun “As fire season draws closer, anyone concerned that the United State Forest Service (USFS) will not be allowed to use aerial fire retardant to contain blazes lighting up the nation’s forests will not have to worry. A Federal judge in Montana issued a ruling Friday in favor of the continued use of aerial fire retardants by Federal firefighters.” To continue reading, click here.

New Forest Plans Released for Sequoia and Sierra National Forests USDA Forest Service “After extensive public engagement and scientific analysis, the USDA Forest Service has released a final environmental impact statement and final decisions for the Sequoia and the Sierra National Forests revised land management plans through a Notice of Plan Approval in the Federal Register.” To continue reading, click here.

A New episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast is out now. At CCA’s Feeder Meeting, Katie sat down with CCA’s Feeder Council Chair Joe Dan Cameron. Tune in as they discuss current issues and concerns from cattle feeders in California. To listen to the episode click here.