California Nurseryman Settles With Feds Over Plowing Dispute

John Duarte, and Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) and their co-counsel announced today Duarte Nursery has agreed to a settlement in the federal government’s nearly five-year enforcement action over Duarte’s plowing of his property to plant wheat in late 2012.  Under the agreement, Duarte would admit no liability, pay the government $330,000 in a civil penalty, purchase $770,000 worth of vernal pool mitigation credits, and perform additional work on the site of the plowing,” Francois said in a statement.The case has drawn national attention. Just a few weeks ago American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, calling the Duarte prosecution “a poster child” for abuses by the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers. Francois said Duarte would have preferred to see the case through to trial and appealed the court’s liability ruling, which holds that plowing a field requires federal permission — despite the clear text of the Clean Water Act and regulations to the contrary.“John and his counsel remain concerned that legal liability for farming without federal permission undermines the clear protections that the Clean Water Act affords to farming and poses a significant ongoing threat to farmers across the nation,” he said.