Pesticides/Herbicides: EPA Issues Existing Stocks Order for Three Dicamba Products After Registration Vacatur
On February 14, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an existing stocks order for the dicamba-based herbicides XtendiMax, Enginia, and Tavium following vacatur of the herbicides’ registrations. See ALWR—Feb. 13, 2024, “District Court Issues Order Vacating Three Dicamba Registrations.”…

Air Quality: EPA Bolsters Soot Pollution Standards Following Air Quality Concerns
On Tuesday, February 7, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule with new Particulate Matter (PM) standards that were decided on after reconsidering the 2020 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). As stated in the document, the EPA has revised the…

Dairy Policy: Federal Milk Marketing Order Hearing Ends, Brief Filing Open Until April 1
On February 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) received an order “Notification to the Hearing Clerk Pursuant to 7 CFR § 900.10” for the National Federal Milk Marketing Order Pricing Formula Hearing, which began on August…

National Energy Policy: DOE Finalizes Efficiency Standards for Cooking Products
On January 29, 2024, pursuant to a Congressional directive, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a direct final rule updating energy efficiency standards for residential cooking products. The DOE stated that these updates will reduce household utility costs over a period of thirty years by…

Agribusiness: Kubota Enjoined from Labeling Imported Products as ‘Made in USA,’ Will Pay $2 Million
On January 25, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a stipulated order permanently enjoining Kubota North America from claiming that its products are “Made in the United States” (MUSA) when the products do not…

Oil and Gas Leasing: BOEM Publishes Final Procedures for Bid Adequacy in Lease Sales
On Monday, January 22, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published final revisions to the bid adequacy procedures for offshore oil and gas lease sales. The final procedures yielded no significant changes from the proposed revisions that were published…

Methane Emissions: EPA Proposes New Rule Aimed at Methane Reductions in Oil and Gas Industry
On Friday, January 12, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Press Office released a statement regarding a newly proposed EPA rule aimed at reducing “wasteful methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.” The purported purpose of these methane emission…