United States Ninth Circuit

District court's summary judgment in favor of defendant federal officials and intervenor-defendants, in an action brought by plaintiffs, environmental groups and farmer organizations, challenging the Record of Decision issued by the USDA's Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) unconditionally deregulating Roundup Ready Alfalfa, a plant genetically engineered or modified by the Monsanto Company, is affirmed, where: 1) the Plant Protection Act does not regulate the type of harms that the plaintiffs complain of, and therefore APHIS correctly concluded that Roundup Ready Alfalfa was not a "plant pest" under the Act; and 2) because it is not a plant pest, the agency no longer had jurisdiction to continue regulating the plant; and 3) this lack of jurisdiction obviated the need for the agency to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act and to consider alternatives to unconditional deregulation under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/17/2013
• Published 05/17/2013

Judges

• SCHROEDER

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel