4 CapitalPress.com Friday, June 24, 2022 SCOTUS won’t review pesticide cancer labeling lawsuit By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a $25 mil- lion jury verdict that faulted Monsanto for not warning about the alleged cancer risk of its Roundup glyphosate herbicides. The nation’s court has let stand a 9th U.S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals rul- ing that pesticide manufac- turers claim will allow for a hodgepodge of state label- ing requirements for farm chemicals. In 2019, a jury found that Monsanto was liable for failing to warn about the product’s alleged can- cer risks in a lawsuit brought by Edwin Hardeman, who claimed Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Since then, Monsanto has tried to overturn the $25 mil- lion legal judgment awarded to Hardeman, arguing that federal pesticide label- ing regulations should have blocked the case from going to trial. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Mon- santo’s legal arguments last year, ruling that the federal pesticide label doesn’t con- flict with cancer risk warn- ings required in California. Monsanto and other pesti- cide manufacturers urged the Supreme Court to review the 9th Circuit’s ruling, arguing it will effectively allow juries Court tells EPA to review glyphosate’s link to cancer By DON JENKINS Capital Press The 9th U.S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals has ordered the Environmen- tal Protection Agency to reconsider whether gly- phosate, the world’s most widely used pesticide, is unlikely to cause cancer. The ruling, on June 17, targeted the EPA’s conclu- sion in 2016 that dozens of studies provided substan- tial evidence that there is no link between glypho- sate, the active ingredient in Roundup, and “numer- ous cancer outcomes.” The EPA hedged on non-Hodgkin lymphoma, saying it was unable to draw conclusions on the link between that type of cancer and glypho- sate based on the available information. Writing for a unanimous three-court panel, Judge Michelle Friedland said the agency can’t find gly- phosate unlikely to cause cancer, while being uncer- tain about its connection to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Friedland referred to chlorpyrifos, another widely used pesticide that the 9th Circuit prodded the EPA to ban because the agency hesitated to declare it safe in all uses. “We have previously held that an agency cannot rely on ambiguous studies as evidence of a conclusion that the studies do not sup- port,” Friedland wrote. The EPA said it would review the decision. Envi- ronmental groups that brought the suit hailed the decision. The ruling has no imme- diate effect on glyphosate’s uses. The EPA is sched- uled to finish a review on applications under the Fed- eral Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act in October. Friedland noted the EPA could again conclude that LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2015 CHEV SLV PK VIN = 3GCUKREC3FG159120 Amount due on lien $1415.00  Reputed owner(s) RYAN & SHELLY SIEGEL TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORP glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer, but its expla- nation will have to be different. Bayer, the pharmaceu- tical company that bought glyphosate-developer Monsanto, said in a state- ment that it was confident the EPA will continue to conclude herbicide is safe and not carcinogenic. “Importantly, the cur- rent product registrations remain in place and grow- ers and other users can continue to use the prod- ucts based the current label instructions,” Bayer stated. The American Farm Bureau and other agricul- tural groups intervened in the lawsuit, arguing gly- phosate was one of the most throughly studied pesticides in the world and there was strong evidence of its safety. The EPA — under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations — embraced that position. The agency said that while some of its science advisers were concerned about a link between gly- phosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, other scientists strongly disagreed. Study shortcomings — such as sample size, miss- ing data and relying on subjects recalling their exposure — clouded find- ings, the EPA said. At a court hearing in January, Friedland fore- shadowed her ruling by questioning the logic of declaring glyphosate safe while saying its link to non-Hodgkin lymphoma was inconclusive. “It seems like there’s an incoherence in the explana- tion,” she said. The court also ruled the EPA violated the Endan- gered Species Act when it issued a preliminary deci- sion in 2020 to renew gly- phosate’s registration. The EPA should have consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fish- eries Service about the pes- ticide’s effect on animals, fish and plants, according to the court. The court did not order any relief. The EPA is now consulting the other fed- eral agencies. With the review due by October, a court order would have lit- tle impact, judges said. to decide different labeling requirements under the laws of the 50 states. While the legal dis- pute pertains specifically to Roundup glyphosate herbi- cides, the pesticide industry expects it to serve as a “bell- wether” for thousands of federal cases and “countless other products.” Though EPA has “exhaus- tively” studied glyphosate for decades and determined a cancer warning for glypho- sate herbicides is “unwar- ranted,” the 9th Circuit ruling allows for a Califor- nia-specific label that refutes that conclusion, according to Monsanto. Inconsistent labels will sow confusion among pes- ticide users and create oner- ous costs for manufacturers, since the case will establish a precedent for thousands of similar lawsuits, the com- pany said. That concern is shared by CropLife America, an orga- nization representing pesti- cide manufacturers, which says the pre-emption ques- tions “reach well beyond this particular case.” The 9th Circuit’s decision will allow EPA’s findings to be “overridden by lay juries under state law,” creating lia- bilities for pesticide manu- facturers in many other law- suits, the group said. While the 9th Circuit char- acterized the cancer warning as a “minor modification” to the pesticide label, juries could force manufacturers to add false cancer warnings to products, threatening to push chemicals that are “safe and economically vital off the market,” CropLife said. “There is a real-world costs, in both economic and public health terms, to ‘cry- ing wolf,’” the group said. Originally, the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency stood with Monsanto in arguing that the $25 million judgement is problematic, but it changed its mind due to the change in presidential administrations and the 9th Circuit’s reasoning. State governments are pre-empted from allow- ing pesticide uses that are prohibited by federal label restrictions, but federal law doesn’t preclude state-level warnings for “chronic health risks like carcinogenicity,” the federal government said. The Supreme Court spe- cifically asked the federal government to weigh in on the case before the justices deliberated on whether to review the 9th Circuit’s rul- ing on June 16. When the EPA shifted its position, Monsanto said it amounts to a “new national policy” that embraces an unworkable “50-state approach” to pesticide labeling. The nation’s highest court denied Monsanto’s petition for review on Jun 21. Strike at West Coast ports unlikely By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press An association represent- ing container terminal own- ers and a union represent- ing 22,000 dockworkers are unlikely to reach a deal in contract negotiations before the current contract expires next month, but experts say a strike or lockout is unlikely. Neither side foresees the conflict escalating into any- thing that would impede port operations or further hobble supply chains. Shipping experts say they’re cautiously optimis- tic that talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association will be resolved reasonably. Negotiations began May 10 over the contract that governs wages, benefits and employment rules for the longshoremen who work at Pacific Maritime Associa- tion terminals. The existing agreement expires on July 1. When the previous con- tract ended in mid-2014, it caused work slowdowns that cost businesses, including agricultural exporters, hun- dreds of millions of dollars. A deal was finally struck in 2015. This time, however, both sides have been more vocal Pacific Maritime Association A group representing container shippers and the union representing dockworkers don’t expect a strike or lockout this summer. about their intention to avoid a fallout. “Both the PMA and the ILWU agree that they are unlikely to reach a deal before the July 1 expiration of the current agreement,” the groups said in a joint statement this week. “This timing is typical, and cargo operations continue beyond the expiration of the current contract. Neither party is pre- paring for a strike or a lock- out, contrary to speculation in news reports.” Bill Mongelluzzo, editor of the Journal of Commerce and an expert on trans-Pa- cific trade, said that in all his years following contract negotiations, he can’t recall ever hearing a statement like that from both parties while negotiations were ongoing. “Not reaching an agree- ment by July 1 does not mean a lockout or strike is imminent,” Mongelluzzo told agricultural exporters at the Agriculture Transporta- tion Coalition’s annual con- ference in Tacoma. Some shipping experts say they suspect President Biden put pressure on the groups not to further upend global supply chains during his visit to Southern Califor- nia last week, where Biden met with both groups aboard the Battleship U.S.S. Iowa in San Pedro. One trade expert said Biden has made it clear that his administration “will not tolerate interruptions” to port productivity. In their joint statement, the union and maritime asso- ciation said they discussed supply chain congestion with the president during his visit and reaffirmed “their shared commitment to reach a col- lective bargaining agreement that is fair to both parties.” The contract is about more than wages and ben- efits. It’s also about reach- ing an agreement over employment rules, including automation. Shipping experts say automation is the main hot-button issue in the 2022 contract negotiations. Some ports, looking to become more efficient, are exploring automation, including using driverless automated cranes and driver- less yard tractors. Previous contract nego- tiations, including in 2008, won terminal owners the right to use some forms of automation. But the 2008 agreement was widely criticized by dockworkers. Since then, the ILWU has aimed to block most further attempts at automation. Wildfire risk expected to be above normal below-normal precipita- tion is likely across much of the Plains through the cen- tral Rockies and into the Northwest. Above-normal temperatures are expected across much of the contigu- ous U.S. Central Oregon already has an above-normal risk of large fires. It is expected to expand in July to include southwest and southeast Oregon and southeast Wash- ington, the report said. Above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall are likely from July through September. Northern California’s risk of large fires is above normal at the lower and middle ele- vations, excluding the coast. It is expected to spread to all non-coastal elevations in July and August. Tem- peratures are expected to be near to below normal into July, and near to above nor- mal in August and Septem- ber. Precipitation that is near to below normal is expected through September. Drought intensified in Southern California in the past month, and much of the state’s central region remains in exceptional drought. Seasonal grasses have cured, but fuel loading is less uniform than usual following spotty late-winter precipitation. Dry fuels and expected above-normal temperatures likely will bring an elevated risk of large fires to much of central California by August and possibly to higher eleva- tions in the state’s southern region in September. The report said above-normal rain will help reduce the chances of large fires west of the Continen- tal Divide for at least the first half of June and pos- sibly later. Fine fuels could become ready to burn quickly if warm, dry condi- tions arrive. Fire activity likely will increase in southern Idaho and Wyoming by August. Recent wet conditions delayed fuel curing and the start of fire season in that area. LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2015 HOND CRV UT VIN = 2HKRM4H5XFH647357 Amount due on lien $1515.00  Reputed owner(s) > LORELEI G MATTHEWS CENTRAL WILLAMETTE COMM CU LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2008 CHEV SLV PK VIN = 1GCEC19078Z223374 Amount due on lien $1535.00  Reputed owner(s) VIKING ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press BOISE — Much of the West will face an above-nor- mal risk of big wildfires by late summer despite a wet spring in Oregon, Washing- ton and Idaho. “We have had a pretty wet and cold spring that has helped those drought con- ditions,” said Nick Nick Nauslar, Nauslar U.S. Bureau of Land Management wild- fire meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. “But the underlying drought, and forecast warm and dry weather, are probably going to bring us back to normal to above-normal significant fire potential. “There is above-normal Central Oregon Fire Information The wet spring will delay some wildfire activity, but once the weather turns dry this summer, more fires are expected in much of the Northwest. grass growth,” he said. “In Oregon and Washington, and into Idaho and Nevada, that may be a factor in those areas in terms of increasing significant fire potential later this summer.” The fire forecast for June through September said LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2020 FORD F150 PK VIN = 1FTEW1E40LKD11829 Amount due on lien $1535.00  Reputed owner(s) COREY SCOTT PEARSON SANTANDER CONSUMER USA LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2005 PILG TRL VIN = 5L4TF272953009793 Amount due on lien $1435.00  Reputed owner(s) JEROT BLANCHI LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2018 SUBA FOR 4D VIN = JF2SJAEC6JH419036 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) HUNG NGUYEN & THUY LE JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2012 TOYT PRIUS 4D VIN = JTDKN3DPXC3023307 Amount due on lien $1435.00  Reputed owner(s) JOHN H & JULIE A WIRZ TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORP LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2015 GMC YUK LL VIN = 1GKS2CKJ3FR226021 Amount due on lien $1535.00  Reputed owner(s) KARAH & CHASE MASON OREGON COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for  cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2012 GMC ACA LL VIN = 1GKKVTED5CJ314785 Amount due on lien $1535.00  Reputed owner(s) CINDY SUHEY ESCALERA MAPS CREDIT UNION LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2018 NISSAN ROGUE LL VIN = JN8AT2MV4JW301757 Amount due on lien $1555.00  Reputed owner(s) DEVINDER KAUR IQ CREDIT UNION LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87  Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be  sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 06/27/2022.  The sale will be held at 10:00am by  COPART OF WASHINGTON INC  2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR  2015 TOYT COA 4D VIN = 2T1BURHE3FC246606 Amount due on lien $1455.00  Reputed owner(s) NURDIN HASSAN