As part of its responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its final Herbicide Strategy to address potential impacts of conventional herbicides on...more
A recent report indicates that the global biochar market is expected to nearly triple from its current value of $160 million to over $450 million by 2030. Biochar is a soil amendment used to increase crop yield and health for...more
Key Takeaways -
• What Happened: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a 2020 draft guidance detailing the agency’s recommendations for clinical research for developing cannabis and cannabis-derived human drugs....more
New York is poised to be the first state in the country to implement a fashion sustainability law. On January 7, 2022, Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assembly Member Anna Kelles announced the Fashion Sustainability and Social...more
Key Takeaways What Is Happening? An increased focus on climate change and environmental stewardship is rapidly changing the legal and regulatory landscape affecting the fisheries and aquaculture industries, and agencies and...more
On May 19, 2021, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Hemp Access and Consumer Safety Act of 2021 (SB 1698), which would address long-standing regulatory uncertainty facing...more
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) published its final rule establishing the Domestic Hemp Production Program on January 19, 2021, effective March 22, 2021. The final rule...more
Public water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities face an array of compliance obligations under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) that require investment in upgrades and maintenance of critical wastewater infrastructure....more
On September 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) reopened the public comment period on its final interim regulations establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program....more
On July 9, 2020, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission unanimously approved $550,000 in combined settlements against two cannabis companies, 4Front Ventures and Garden Remedies, for the companies’ improper use of...more
Key Takeaways:
What Happened: On an April 3, 2020 call with retailers and marketplace platforms, EPA identified enforcement against sales of unregistered or fraudulent disinfectant products as a high priority during the...more
On March 5, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an expansion of its effort to comprehensively evaluate cannabidiol (CBD) products, including an opportunity for stakeholders and other members of the...more
On December 19, 2019, EPA announced that it has approved ten applications seeking to add new hemp uses to pesticide products registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in time for the 2020...more
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will extend the period for comment on its final interim regulations establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program by thirty days, until January...more
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its interim regulations establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program on Thursday, October 31. The interim regulations became effective upon publication...more
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a draft of its interim final rule establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program, in advance of the rule’s Federal Register publication, which is...more
On May 31, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a full-day public hearing to obtain scientific information about issues associated with food and other products that contain cannabis and cannabis-derived...more
On May 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a legal opinion resolving significant ambiguities about the legality of hemp following the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (more commonly...more
On May 31, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public hearing to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale of products...more
The New York State Legislature passed legislation on Tuesday, April 30, that requires the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to publish a biennial list of “high local environmental impact zones” – areas...more
Following a larger national trend in enforcing pesticide regulations on the nascent cannabis industry, Massachusetts regulators shut down two Massachusetts dispensaries for selling cannabis grown at a facility that used...more
Passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (commonly known as the “Farm Bill") into law on Thursday, December 20, 2018 is anticipated to encourage rapid growth in the burgeoning U.S. hemp industry. The $867 billion...more
On August 3, 2016, the New York State Attorney General issued cease-and-desist letters to seven companies making pesticidal claims to prevent or protect consumers against the Zika virus. The claims at issue were made in...more
Underscoring the need for plaintiffs to show concrete proof of harm in suits alleging property damage, a federal district court dismissed a suit alleging that an oil pipeline contaminated farmland in Missouri. See Henke v....more
In a decision that may make it somewhat easier for defendants to remove putative class actions from state to federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that defendants in such cases do not need to offer evidence in their...more