Author Archives: Gary Baise
What are perennial, intermittent and ephemeral streams?
In an earlier blog, I discussed what is “not” a water of the United States. The issue is trickier when a new definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is examined for perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral streams. A perennial stream … Continue reading
Feds Define What is NOT a “Waters of the United States”
In my many efforts to unravel and explain the federal government’s sometimes baffling efforts to legally define the things that matter most to property owners, I have started by describing the government’s interpretation of a “ditch” (see here). Now the U.S. … Continue reading
California Wins Again
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) were defeated again, as was all of American agriculture, by the state of California defending its Proposition 12 laws on animal housing. NPPC and AFBF filed an … Continue reading
Supreme Court Groundwater Ruling May Lead to More Litigation
In February 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit held that sewage pollutants at the County of Maui, Hawaii, were traceable to wells which discharge into groundwater. That is a violation of the Clean Water Act. In September 2018, … Continue reading
Why Aren’t Farmers Included in Disaster Loans?
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) has within its Title I Section 1110 entitled “Emergency EIDL grants.” The Small Business Administration (SBA) states on its website, “The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) provides vital economic support to small … Continue reading