American Soybean Association v. Michael Regan

77 F.4th 873
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJuly 21, 2023
Docket20-1441
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 77 F.4th 873 (American Soybean Association v. Michael Regan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Soybean Association v. Michael Regan, 77 F.4th 873 (D.C. Cir. 2023).

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued December 8, 2022 Decided July 21, 2023

No. 20-1441

AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION, PETITIONER

v.

MICHAEL S. REGAN, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, ET AL., RESPONDENTS

BASF CORPORATION, ET AL., INTERVENORS

Consolidated with 20-1445, 20-1484, 22-1048, 22-1050, 22-1067

On Petitions for Review of Final Actions of the Environmental Protection Agency

Edmund S. Sauer argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the joint briefs were Kyle W. Robisch, Sarah Gunn, and Bartholomew J. Kempf. 2 J. Brett Grosko and Andrew D. Knudsen, Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the causes for respondents. With them on the brief was Todd Kim, Assistant Attorney General.

John C. Cruden, Kathryn E. Szmuskzkovicz, Anthony L. Michaels, David A. Barker, Philip J. Perry, Richard P. Bress, Stacey L. VanBelleghem, Karen E. Carr, Donald C. McLean, and Laura Zell were on the joint brief for intervenors Bayer CropScience LP, et al. in support of respondents. Andrew D. Prins entered an appearance.

Before: SRINIVASAN, Chief Judge, PILLARD and RAO, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Chief Judge SRINIVASAN.

Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge RAO.

SRINIVASAN, Chief Judge: Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, review of orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency after a “public hearing” lies exclusively in the courts of appeals. 7 U.S.C. § 136n(b). For orders issued without a public hearing, review lies in the district courts. Id. § 136n(a).

Petitioners in this case seek to challenge EPA orders regulating the use of a pesticide named dicamba. Believing that EPA issued those orders without holding any “public hearing,” petitioners brought their challenges in district court. But as a precautionary measure, they also filed protective petitions for review in our court. All parties before us agree that review properly lies in district court rather than our court because EPA did not hold a “public hearing” before issuing the challenged orders. We agree as well, and we therefore dismiss the petitions for lack of jurisdiction. 3 I.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) generally precludes the distribution or sale of any pesticide unless it is “registered” by EPA. Id. § 136a(a). A FIFRA registration is a license establishing the terms and conditions under which a pesticide may be lawfully sold, distributed, and used. Id. § 136a(c)(1)(A)–(F).

Parties seeking registration of a pesticide must submit specific information to EPA, including supporting data and proposed labeling. Id. § 136a(c)(1); 40 C.F.R. § 152.50. If a party applies to register a pesticide containing any new active ingredient or if the party’s application would entail a changed use pattern for a pesticide, EPA must publish its receipt of the application in the Federal Register and provide a public comment period. 7 U.S.C. § 136a(c)(4). But if an application does not involve a pesticide with a new active ingredient and does not request a changed use pattern, EPA is not required to provide public notice of the application. See id.

EPA must register a pesticide if it meets certain criteria under FIFRA, including that use of the pesticide as the label directs “will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.” Id. § 136a(c)(5). EPA refers to that form of registration as “unconditional registration.” A “conditional registration,” on the other hand, occurs when EPA conditionally registers new uses of an already-registered pesticide “notwithstanding that data concerning the pesticide may be insufficient to support an unconditional amendment.” Id. § 136a(c)(7)(B).

FIFRA provides for judicial review of EPA registration orders through two routes. When EPA issues an order in response to a registration application “following a public 4 hearing, any person who will be adversely affected by such order and who had been a party to the proceedings may obtain judicial review by filing in the United States court of appeals for the circuit wherein such person resides or has a place of business . . . .” Id. § 136n(b). In that situation, the court of appeals “shall have exclusive jurisdiction to affirm or set aside the order complained of in whole or in part.” Id. For orders that do not follow a “public hearing,” FIFRA provides that the orders are instead initially “reviewable by the district courts of the United States.” Id. § 136n(a).

II.

A.

Dicamba is an herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds in crops. Dicamba has been registered under FIFRA since 1967, but its use was initially restricted to application to soil before crops emerge. In 2015, the Department of Agriculture authorized the commercial sale of soybean seeds and cotton seeds that are genetically modified to be tolerant of dicamba. Businesses then introduced dicamba-based products intended for use on dicamba-tolerant crops. Those products can be applied “over the top” of soybean and cotton crops, allowing farmers to target broadleaf weeds after crops have emerged from the soil.

EPA later received an application to register three dicamba products for over-the-top use. Because that use of dicamba entailed a changed use pattern for the pesticide, EPA, per FIFRA’s requirements, published notice of its receipt of the application in the Federal Register and provided a public comment period. See id. § 136a(c)(4). After the public comment period, EPA provided notice of its proposed 5 registration decision and solicited an additional round of comments.

In 2016, EPA issued conditional registrations permitting over-the-top use of dicamba on dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton crops (the “2016 Registrations”). The 2016 Registrations included several use restrictions to prevent adverse effects to the environment, such as a prohibition on using the approved dicamba products during periods of high wind speeds to prevent dicamba from spreading to non-target crops and wildlife. See Nat’l Fam. Farm Coal. v. EPA, 960 F.3d 1120, 1127 (9th Cir. 2020). EPA set a 2018 expiration date for the 2016 Registrations.

In 2018, EPA granted applications to renew the 2016 conditional registrations for an additional two years (the “2018 Registrations”). Because the application did not concern a pesticide with a new active ingredient or propose a new use pattern, EPA did not publish notice of that application or solicit public comment on it.

Several parties filed petitions for review of the 2018 Registrations in the Ninth Circuit. See Nat’l Fam. Farm Coal., 960 F.3d at 1120. The court held that the 2018 Registrations followed a “public hearing” for purposes of substantiating its jurisdiction. Id. at 1132. Even though there had been no public notice or solicitation of comments specifically concerning the renewal applications giving rise to the 2018 Registrations, the court reasoned that those registrations followed a “public hearing” because there had been a notice-and-comment period before the underlying 2016 Registrations. Id..

On the merits, the court vacated the 2018 Registrations, concluding that substantial evidence did not support EPA’s grant of the registrations. Id. at 1145. In the wake of the Ninth 6 Circuit’s decision, EPA issued an order cancelling the 2018 Registrations.

B.

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Bluebook (online)
77 F.4th 873, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-soybean-association-v-michael-regan-cadc-2023.