Many of the things farmers do on a daily basis to produce food and maintain their land come under strict environmental oversight.

NAWG works on a variety of environmental issues to ensure regulation is appropriate for agricultural operations and conservation programs are effective.

Sixth Circuit Case

In January, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the first U.S. court ruling that pesticide discharge is a point source of pollution subject to additional regulation and permitting under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The impact of this decision, made in the case of National Cotton Council of America v U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is that EPA will almost certainly require producers to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits or some other type of permit for each and every pesticide application, even if applied within label requirements. In June, the Court ordered a two-year stay of the decision to allow time for EPA and state regulators to implement it properly, and, in August, the Court rejected a request from NAWG and other agricultural organizations for a rehearing by the entire Sixth Circuit.

NAWG will closely follow the process EPA undertakes to implement this ruling and the likely effects on producers and agricultural operations. EPA estimates the ruling will affect approximately 365,000 pesticide applicators that perform 5.6 million pesticide applications annually.

Click here for analysis of this case and its potential impacts from NAWG counsel.

Clean Water Restoration Act

A number of Supreme Court rulings in recent years have complicated the definition of the “navigable waters of the United States,” over which the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers have authority under the Clean Water Act.

To clarify this – and remove the term “navigable,” expanding regulatory jurisdiction – Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced the Clean Water Restoration Act, S. 787. In June, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved this bill after accepting an amendment from Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) clarifying that it could not expand the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act beyond the scope originally intended by Congress. The amendment would also codify the exemption for prior converted cropland, which now exists only in federal rules; ensure that the existing permitting exemptions for agriculture in the CWA remain intact; and require that any rulemaking be completely consistent with the traditional scope of the statute.

In a June letter, NAWG expressed preference for the Baucus amendment over the original bill language, but NAWG remains opposed to removing the term “navigable” from Clean Water Act language, a position held by many mainstream agricultural organizations.

Farm Bill Conservation Programs

NAWG continues to closely follow the 2008 Farm Bill implementation process as it relates to conservation programs. Key conservation programs authorized in that bill include the following (PDF summary here).

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): The CRP cap was reduced to 32 million acres, and the law now allows managed harvesting of biomass subject to the purposes of CRP and soil, water and wildlife considerations.

In 2006, USDA moved to re-enroll or extend many of the CRP contracts that would expire between 2007 and 2010. During that period, CRP contracts for nearly 28 million acres were scheduled to expire, and the re-enrollment and extension program (known as REX) was successful in re-signing over 23 million acres. Under REX, owners of the highest 20 percent  environmental benefit index acres were offered new 10- to 15-year contracts, the next highest 20 percent were offered five-year extensions of their current contracts, the next 20 percent offered four-year extensions and so on.

Since the 2008 Farm Bill reduced the cap on CRP to 32 million acres, it is likely the Farm Service Agency, which administers the CRP program, will allow this attrition process to continue until acreage levels fall below the cap. CRP will, therefore, continue as a 32 million acre, capped program. In the FY2011 Obama Administration budget proposal, the program was allocated $1.958 billion, slightly lower than the 2010 spending estimate but higher than the 2009 actual spending.

For more, visit the USDA CRP page

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP): The WRP cap was set at just over three million acres. For more, visit the USDA WRP page.

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP): A revamped version of the Conservation Security Program in the 2002 Farm Bill, this is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt new ones. The program was authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill and capped at 12.796 million acres enrolled per fiscal year. Continuous sign-up for CSP began Aug. 10, 2009. For more visit the USDA CSP page.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): EQIP provides payments up to 75 percent of the incurred costs and income foregone of certain conservation practices and activities. For more visit the USDA EQIP page.