Judicial and regulatory news

Via the MD Farm Bureau:

Two recent developments that could have impact on horse farmers -

1. A West Virginia poultry farmer prevailed in a court case brought by the EPA and some environmental groups that would have required them to obtain a Clean Water Act permit on the basis of runoff from their farmyard area.
"The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants from "point sources" of pollution to navigable waters (which are loosely defined to include many wetlands and tributaries adjacent to waters that are actually navigable). Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are defined as point sources under the Clean Water Act. However, the Clean Water Act specifically exempts "agricultural stormwater runoff" from the definition of point sources of pollution.  . . .
Chief Judge John Preston Bailey of the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia held that ventilation fan exhaust (dust, feathers, manure, and dander) that landed in the farmyard and ran off during precipitation events is agricultural stormwater runoff, which does not require a permit under the Clean Water Act." John Dillard, Agweb.com.
This ruling was based on the fact that "only the portions of the operation where animals are confined, where litter or manure is stored, where the raw materials are stored and waste containment areas are the “production area,” ("production areas" do require Clean Water Act permits). However, dust from ventilation fans that lands on other parts of the operation and runs off during precipitation is not subject to the permit requirement.

2. The Maryland Department of Agriculture has re-submitted the proposal to update the phosphorus measurement portion of nutrient management plans.  Under the proposed regulation, the P-Site Index will be replaced with the Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT), which is designed to be more sensitive to the potential for P to move off of farmland. The new regulation, if adopted, could be more restrictive of the use of phosphorus in fertilizers applied to the land.

For more information about either of these topics, click here.

Notice about WSSC Commissioners meeting about winter closing of Rocky Gorge trails

Just received this notice from some avid trail riders and trail policy watchdogs:


  "This Wednesday, October 16, is almost the last WSSC Commisssioners' Meeting before they officially close their riding trail for 3 1/2 months (Dec 1 - March 14) . . ..  Since WSSC's 1/4 million dollar study by EA Engineering said the trails were fine (after 50 plus years of year-round riding, with the riders judging when it is prudent) and WSSC's 2011 claim that winter has the most rainfall has been resoundingly discredited by both NOAA's and WSSC's own data, plus their new 4-FUN "hotline" would close the trail on any wet day anyway, the winter closing really makes no sense.
   We have been advised that our best chance to get this pointless rule changed -- to return to year-round riding, as it had been for all the previous decades -- is through the Commissioners.  A few of us are planning on going to the Commissioners' meeting this Wednesday, to ask to return to allowing winter riding (and to congratulate them on how well the other aspects of the trail have been going).
    The more of us that are there, the bigger effect it will make on the Commissioners.  Please, if you can arrange to come by the WSSC building (Sweitzer Lane, Laurel) this Wednesday morning, October 16 (supposedly 8:30 AM, but in practice, 9 AM should be OK too), to participate in the Commissioners' meeting, it would be super!  The dry winter days are some of the nicest times for riding, and your help can be critical to get the trails re-opened in the winter."

Government Shutdown Could Impact Horse Industry

From the American Horse Council:

Submitted by admin on Mon, 09/30/2013 - 15:21

To date Congress has failed to pass any of the annual appropriation bills that fund government agencies and projects for the 2014 fiscal year (October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014).   Congress has also failed to come to an agreement regarding a Continuing Resolution that would continue to fund the government past the end of the current fiscal year, which ends tonight at midnight.    If an agreement is not reached by that time non-essential government operations, many that impact the horse industry and equestrians, could cease.  Should a shutdown occur, it could impact the U.S Department of Agriculture's response to disease outbreaks, procedures for the import and export of horses, recreation on federal land, and temporary worker programs. At this time, government agencies are still working on their shutdown plans and determining essential and non-essential operations. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture   

One of the cornerstones of the U.S. horse industry includes the movement of horses both internationally and domestically. The horse industry relies on USDA to maintain and operate import, export and quarantine facilities for horses traveling in and out of the U.S. At this time, border inspection is deemed essential and will have no lapse in service. Import, Export and Quarantine Facilities are run on a user fee basis and will continue to operate as usual. 

Testing at the National Veterinary Service Lab in Ames, Iowa will be suspended. However, tests which are pending during the shut down will be finished. All incoming tests will be suitably stored by USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service staff and processed at a later date. In case of a disease outbreak, high priority tests will be done on a case-by-case basis. 

USDA is also responsible for the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA), and the slaughter horse transport program regulations. It is likely a shutdown will impact these programs.

Recreation

Many equestrians are dependant on federal land for recreational opportunities.  In the event of a government shutdown, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management will close and secure park, refuge and visitor facilities on public lands.  National Forest recreation sites across the U.S., which require a government employee to stay open, would also be closed to the public.

Temporary Worker Programs and Visas

The horse industry relies on semi-skilled and entry-level foreign workers provided by the H-2A temporary agricultural worker and H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker programs for many of the employment needs of the horse industry.  A government shutdown would halt the processing of applications for both the H-2A and H-2B programs and delay or prevent many employers in the horse industry from obtaining workers when they are needed. Visas for foreign competitors at U.S. equine events could also be delayed.   

At this time, it is not certain the government will shutdown.  If a shutdown does occur it could last a few hours with little impact on the industry or several weeks with greater consequences.  

If you have any questions please contact the AHC.

Courtesy American Horse Council: http://www.horsecouncil.org/press-release/legislation-eliminate-soring-introduced-senate

Legislation to Eliminate Soring Introduced in Senate

Submitted by admin on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 17:15

(Washington, D.C.) There are now bills in both the House and Senate to amend the Horse Protection Act to eliminate soring.  On July 31, just before breaking for the August recess, Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013.  The bill is intended to strengthen the Horse Protection Act (HPA), which was enacted in 1970 to prohibit the showing, exhibiting, transporting or sale at auction of a horse that has been sored.

The Senate bill is the same as the legislation already introduced in the House, which now has 137 cosponsors. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces the HPA.  USDA deems soring to involve the use of action devices, chemicals, pads, or wedges to cause pain in a horse’s forelegs and produce an accentuated show gait for competition.  According to the USDA, soring has been primarily used with Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses and continues despite the existence of a federal ban for over forty years.

The bill focuses on those breeds by amending the HPA to prohibit a Tennessee Walking Horse, a Racking Horse, or a Spotted Saddle Horse from being shown, exhibited, or auctioned with an action device, or a weighted shoe, pad, hoof band or other device if it is constructed to artificially alter the gait of the horse and is not strictly protective or therapeutic.  These new prohibitions would not apply to other breeds and would not prohibit the use of therapeutic pads, or bell boots or quarter boots that are used as protective devices. 

“The horse show industry has been living with the HPA for over 40 years.  However, the base for USDA enforcement of the Act is the showing, exhibition, auction or transport of a sore horse,” said Jay Hickey, president of the American Horse Council (AHC), which supports the bill.  “For this reason USDA has focused its efforts on those segments of the show community that involve breeds and activities that are most frequently involved in soring.  If a breed or discipline is not soring its horses to exaggerate their gaits, then as a practical matter the Act has likely not adversely affected them and the bill to amend the Act, if passed, will not affect them any more than current law.”

The legislation would also increase fines and penalties for violations for soring, including the potential for a lifetime ban for repeat offenders. 

The bill would create a new licensing process for horse show inspectors, eliminating the current program that uses industry-affiliated designated qualified persons (DQPs).  This program has received criticism because DQPs are often not independent of the industry they are inspecting.  Under the bill, USDA would be required to train and license the new independent inspectors for shows and other HPA-regulated activities that wish to hire an inspector.  Licensed or accredited veterinarians would be given preference for these positions.  The decision to hire an inspector, however, would still be up to the show, sale or auction.  It would not be made mandatory.  Shows or sales that employ DQPs now would begin using USDA-selected inspectors.  Shows or sales that choose not to use DQPs now would not be required to use them should the bill pass.

“The AHC supports this legislation, as does the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Morgan Horse Association, the American Paint Horse Association, the Pinto Horse Association of America, the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Saddlebred Horse Association, the Appaloosa Horse club, the Arabian Horse Association, the Maryland Horse Council, the United Professional Horsemen’s Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and other horse groups,” said Hickey.  “The bill focuses on the problems it is intended to solve and does not adversely affect other segments of the show industry that are not soring horses and have no history of soring horses.”

Maryland Court upholds contributory negligence standard

On July 9, the Court of Appeals of Maryland issued a ruling in a case (JAMES COLEMAN v. SOCCER ASSOCIATION OF COLUMBIA) in which a plaintiff sought damages for injuries sustained when he jumped up to hang on the top bar of a soccer goal that was unsecured. The goal toppled on top of him, and he sustained serious injuries to his face. The trial court denied damages, because it found that the plaintiff was partially responsible for his own injuries, and under Maryland's contributory negligence standard that means that he cannot recover anything. On appeal, the plaintiff asked the Court to instead apply a comparative negligence standard, under which the plaintiff could recover at least partial damages, even though he was found to have contributed to his own injuries. Noting that the legislature has considered the question of whether to replace the contributory negligence standard with the comparative negligence on numerous occasions and has failed to do so, the Court said: "For this Court to change the common law and abrogate the contributory negligence defense in negligence actions, in the face of the General Assembly’s repeated refusal to do so, would be totally inconsistent with the Court’s long-standing jurisprudence." The Court also noted that there are several different versions of comparative negligence standards in use in various states, and choosing one that would be best for Maryland is best left to the legislature.

There was a lengthy dissent, in which the contributory negligence standard was described as a "dinosaur," which the dissent predicted would be relegated to "a judicial tar pit at some point" in the future.

Maryland is one of a handful of states that still applies the contributory negligence standard, which is favorable to defendants in negligence suits because it denies the award of damages if the injured party can be shown to have contributed to his own injuries through his own negligence.

American Horse Council requests urgent action against proposed federal legislation that would strip trails funding

According to the American Horse Council, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is planning to offer an amendment (S. Amdt 1742) to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations act (S.1243) that would strip all funding from the Recreational Trail Program (RTP).

The Paul amendment would transfer all funding from the Transportation Alternatives Program to pay for bridge repairs. RTP is part of the Transportation Alternatives Program and would lose all its funding in FY 2014 if this amendment passes and the bill becomes law.

For more information on how to make your voice heard, click here.

Howard County meets with Ag & Equine Industry Leadership to Revise Zoning Proposal

Via the Equiery:

"Today, July 19, 2013, the Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning met with leadership from the equine and ag communities for the purpose of modifying the proposed amendments affecting the ag industry in general and the small-parcel equine and livestock farmer in particular. The ag and equine industry leaders present reported that they believed that the session was extremely productive, and the resulting language should satisfy the majority of the equestrian and ag communities. DPZ has to now execute the discussed language, which will need to be reviewed to insure that it is in concordance with the discussion. The Equiery will post the revision as soon as it is made available to the public, which DPZ expects to do no later than Monday, July 22, 2013. The equine and ag industry leaders involved with the meeting felt that it was productive and that the concerns were addressed and rectified, but we still need to see the proposed modifications in the final language."

To read the Equiery's full report, click here.