Another Win in Our Maryland CAFO Case

Earthrise and its client Food & Water Watch (FWW) are one step closer to the merits of a case challenging a federal loan guarantee to construct and operate a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) in Maryland after a federal district judge yesterday granted our motion to amend our complaint over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) opposition. Chief Judge Beryl Howell in the District of Columbia rejected USDA’s arguments that we had delayed too long in seeking to add new claims, especially given “the litany of problems with the [administrative record] that [FWW] has identified” over the course of the case. This latest victory comes after Earthrise successfully opposed USDA’s motion to dismiss the case and have prevailed in multiple motions to force USDA to complete the Administrative Record. Now the case can proceed to summary judgment on the merits of FWW’s claims under the National Environmental Policy Act. Earthrise Legal Fellow Morgan Staric was instrumental in the successful briefing on this motion.