EPA joined five environmental groups and filed an appeal of a federal court decision holding a West Virginia poultry farm is exempt from Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations for stormwater runoff.  

The appeals, consolidated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit into a single action, contest the lower court's decision that West Virginia farmer Lois Alt was not in violation of the CWA NPDES permit regulations as EPA contended when it cited her farm as a consolidated animal feeding operation (CAFO) based on unpermitted runoff of feathers and "other material" into local streams.  

EPA's appeal was rolled into similar actions filed by Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, Potomac River Keeper and West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

Over 40 existing federal energy tax breaks would be rendered down to just two new programs based on "carbon intensity" under a plan unveiled this week by Sen. Max Baucus (D, MT), chair of the Senate Finance Committee.  One of the new programs would become the home for tax credits related to power generation; the other would cover breaks related to transportation fuels.

The energy tax breaks are part of a broader federal tax reform effort being developed by Baucus and his committee.  The Montana Senator, recently nominated to be the new ambassador to China, said the new program would save about $150 billion over the next decade in federal tax breaks.

The power tax credits would be rolled into a new clean electricity tax benefit proposed to begin in 2017.  Under this scheme, businesses could take the new production credit up to 2.3 cents per kilowatt hour generated or a flat investment tax credit of 20%.  Older facilities would qualify based on a fossil fuels formula built on the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to electricity produced.  Current production and investment tax credits would continue until 2016.

Producers of alternatives to conventional fossil based transportation fuels would get a similar production or investment tax credit offer.  Once the U.S. produces 25% less carbon pollution than in 2013, the credits would phase out over four years.  

Exports of dried distillers grains (DDGs), an animal feedstuff produced as a byproduct of U.S. ethanol production, were rejected by the Chinese government this week over concerns the DDGs were the product of genetically modified (GM) corn.  Just over 2,000 metric tonnes of DDGs were not allowed to enter China - the biggest customer for U.S. DDGs - and the action follows last week's rejection of 500,000 metric tonnes of GM corn.

The issue is the GM strain of U.S. corn, identified in media reports as Syngenta's MIR 162.  The strain, while approved for export to Japan, Korea and the European Union (EU), has not been approved as safe in China, hence the corn and its byproducts are not eligible for import until the Chinese government takes formal action to approve the corn.

Because the market expects the Chinese to reject more corn and byproduct shipments, the action put pressure on corn and oilseed prices at markets across the country.  Further, exporters voiced concern the rejections make it difficult to resell the DDGs into other markets. The U.S. has urged China to quickly approve the Syngenta strain.

OAKLAND -The California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) is pleased to announce Injury and Illness Prevention (IIPP) training and resources for agriculture. This training is part of the Commission's Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program (WOSHTEP), a statewide effort aimed at reducing job-related injuries and illnesses among California workers. This program is administered by CHSWC through inter-agency agreements with the Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) at the University of California, Berkeley, the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS) at the University of California, Davis, and the Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH) at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The training and resources for agricultural businesses, "Taking Action for Safety and Health: Implementing an Effective IIPP," were developed for the agriculture industry by WCAHS and LOHP for CHSWC. These resources will help train participants to develop and implement an effective health and safety program at their workplace in the agricultural industry which meets the requirements of Cal/OSHA's IIPP standard.  Cal/OSHA enforces the requirements of this IIPP standard. Resource materials include a free guidebook, an easy-to-use model template for writing an IIPP, tools to help implement an IIPP, and resources for technical assistance.

CHSWC, created by the workers' compensation reform legislation of 1993, is charged with examining the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation.  CHSWC was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to examine those programs in other states.

Information about CHSWC is available at www.dir.ca.gov/chswc and information on the IIPP training and resources for general industry and for small businesses at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/WOSHTEP/iipp/. Information may also be obtained by writing to CHSWC at 1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor, Oakland, California, 94612; by calling (510) 622-3959; by faxing a request to (510) 622-3265; or by email at chswc@dir.ca.gov.

All foods - including feeds and pet foods - produced using genetic modification (GM) or made with a GM ingredient should be labeled and FDA's current "outdated" labeling policy should be changed, demanded Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, CA) in a letter to President Obama sent December 20.  In the letter, she urges Obama to mandate the labeling and not wait for Congress to act.

"It is my strong opinion that consumers have the right to know whether their food originates from genetically modified organisms," Feinstein wrote. "Your administration should re-evaluate the FDA's outdated policy that genetically engineered food does not need to disclose this fact on required labels."

Feinstein, who's introduced legislation to require the labeling of GM foods, says FDA has the authority to require the labels since withholding the information is a violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA).  The FDCA says FDA can't approve false and misleading label claims, and the failure to reveal the presence of GM ingredients is a failure to "reveal facts material" about the food product.

Also in the letter, she cites a July, 2013, poll by the New York Times as the basis for consumer support.  That poll reportedly found 93% of consumers in favor of labeling GM foods.

To read Senator Feinstein's letter click here: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=26c60a85-9e46-4930-8046-6c90672ceb04