SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A case involving a South Dakota farmer and the US Department of Agriculture has new life after the overturning of a legal precedent that stood for four decades.
In June, the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron Deference, which made the courts refer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute if the issue at hand was not clear.
Therefore, a fight that has lasted two decades now, continues on.
“It really brings down the efficiency of big equipment,” Arlen Foster said.
The issue at hand involves a tract of land that the department determined was a natural wetland, preventing Foster, the landowner, from farming on it.
If he were to try and farm on the marked wetland, he would lose eligibility for certain federal benefits.
So far, he has remained in compliance with the USDA’s ruling.
It makes up about eight-tenths of an acre about 15 miles north of Alexandria.
Foster’s a farmer of Corn, Beans and Limousin Cattle.
In 2004 and 2011 the USDA certified the place as a wetland, in 2017 Foster requested a new review, saying a man-made tree belt near the land was the cause of the wetland
The USDA refused, citing that Foster needed new evidence. Again, denying a review in 2020 after having trouble getting ahold of Foster or the engineering firm that confirmed it was an artificial wetland.
“I think it’s the principle of things, the law says I’m entitled to a review and the NRCS says I’m not,” Foster said.
In July, after the District Court and 8th Circuit Court of Appeals referred to the department, the Supreme Court sent Foster’s case back to the Circuit Court.
Foster’s law firm says the fight goes on.
“We will file a brief and so will the federal government by the end of September. Then there is no immediate, there’s no time limit for the court to decide,” Jeff McCoy, Senior Attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation said.
Although, a controversial decision with many worried about its environmental effects, the overturning of the Chevron Deference inspires hope for farmers.
“The main point of this whole thing is to be persistent in preserving our rights that we are entitled to under law,” Foster said.
Dakota News Now did reach out to the Department of Agriculture for comment, they said due to policy, their office does not comment on pending litigation.
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 18:05:00
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