This post was guest authored by Stoel Rives summer associate Olivier Jamin.
Last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc., a Pennsylvania brewery, settled Clean Water Act (CWA) violations involving wastewater discharge into public treatment facilities for $2.8 million and a commitment to
Yesterday, January 4th, 2016 marked the start of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) accepting online applications for recreational marijuana licenses. Producers, laboratories, processors, wholesalers, retailers, and handlers are now lining up to receive OLCC licenses under Oregon’s new regulatory framework. Many cities and counties, however, are not enthusiastic with the new regulatory framework
Good news for the cider industry with today’s passage of the CIDER Act. The CIDER Act provides a much needed update to the tax and regulatory framework cider. To date, the regulatory framework and tax structure for cider has been known to cause cider makers angst given how cider is characterized under the law. Now,
The Pacific Northwest Cider Awards (PNWCA) held its second annual cider competition on June 5 and 6 in Seattle. On Friday, June 5, a panel of twenty judges made up primarily of media and cider enthusiasts headed to Seattle Capitol Cider to taste about 145 products in multiple cider categories. Over 35 cideries from the Pacific Northwest participated in the PNWCA. On Saturday, June 6, following the awards, Seattle Cider Company opened its tasting room doors — “The Woods” — to the public and featured 30 ciders from the cideries participating in the PNWCA festival.
The ciders were registered in 14 distinct categories, with gold, silver and bronze medal awarded in almost every category. Each judging panel was made up of 4 or 5 judges who tasted through 2 or 3 categories each. All judges then participated in a second tasting featuring the gold medals of each category to designate the “Best in Show” medal for the 2015 competition. This year’s winner was Wandering Aengus Ciderworks “Bloom,” a cidery based in Salem, Oregon. The complete results of the PNWCA can be found here.
The OLCC announced on May 1st its approach for addressing the implementation of recreational marijuana in Oregon. The OLCC appointed a Rules Advisory Committee (“RAC”) made up of 15 members. The RAC will meet once a month starting June 19, and represents the marijuana industry, local government, law enforcement and the general public.
In addition to the RAC, the OLCC appointed subcommittees to develop draft rules for the different areas related to the regulation of the marijuana industry: Growers, Processors, Extracts, Retail, Advertising/Labeling, Licensing. The subcommittees began meeting the week of June 1. The Growers subcommittee met for the first time on June 1st. The goal of the meeting was to establish an agenda for the next couple of months, addressing issues like: production limits, tracking, licensing, waste disposal, use of natural resources, security and transportation. According to the reaction of the subcommittee, it seems like the main points of discussion will be the establishment of a tracking system, the level of tax to apply, as well as the impact on natural resources (water law, electricity, land use).
The OLCC staff also plan on hosting meetings with other agencies to discuss the impact of recreational marijuana on different areas: land use, banking, energy, and other issues.
Continue Reading Implementation of Measure 91: the OLCC is Picking up the Pace
Clean Water Services (CWS), a water resources management utility in the Tualatin River Watershed, has been creatively exploring a new opportunity for the brewery industry. CWS is taking beneficial reuse of water to a new level by proposing the reuse of recycled water in the brewing process, a proposal first approved by the Oregon Health Authority in September 2014.
The reuse of recycled water in the brewing process has found support in various Oregon organizations: tests showed that the proposed treatment presents very low risk to human health, promotes the importance of conserving water, promotes the need to engage a dialogue about potable reuse, and would help meeting the growing demand for beers. The proposal has the potential to create a new market but raises a few issues.
Health and Sanitary Concerns
The recycled water must be treated to meet or exceed all regulated drinking water contaminant criteria. The analysis regarding the recycled water used to brew small batches of beer revealed that the water was at least as pure and clean as regular water used from municipal resources, and the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission approved the experimentation. A round of public comments on the question was held mid-April 2015. One of the concerns was that wastewater contains “emerging contaminants” that are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act, and consequently, while the recycled water could meet technical drinking water requirements, it still could pose a threat to human health because some of the contaminants are not addressed in those requirements.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently revising CWS’s permit requirements to address these issues and make sure that all risks to human health are eliminated when using recycled water in beer production.
Continue Reading Raising water conservation awareness by drinking beer
The interest in urban wineries is on the rise, with companies looking to take advantage of close proximity to customers, empty warehouse and industrial space, and access to city water and sewer. However, hidden land use issues can present significant problems when pursuing this type of urban property, particularly within the City of Portland (City).
“Grandfathered” Uses
With the changing urban landscape (in-fill development, urban renewal areas, etc.), many older warehouses and industrial spaces are located in zones that now restrict commercial and industrial activities. This means that although an industrial activity may have historically occupied the building, a new or changed industrial use may be prohibited or restricted under the City’s current land use regulations. Even if the building is marketed as a “grandfathered” industrial space, that does not mean it has been approved as a legal nonconforming use or situation under the City’s code. It is important to know whether the City has already issued a legal nonconforming determination for the industrial activities and, if not, to consider whether such a determination can be obtained prior to acquiring the property. The City’s website provides a good explanation of the process and the review requirements.
Continue Reading Hidden Land Use Issues with Urban Winery Properties
Following in the steps of Washington and Colorado, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 91 (PDF) on November 4, opening the door to legalized recreational marijuana in the state. Beginning July 1, 2015, the Control, Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act allows Oregonians 21 years and older to possess up to eight ounces
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is undertaking rulemaking that would impose new regulations on the service of alcohol at food carts and other outdoor areas throughout the state. The rules would distinguish between outdoor areas not abutting a licensed building (e.g., areas associated with food carts and food cart pods) and outdoor areas connected to a brick-and-mortar licensed premise.
Overall, the proposed rules would establish a clear licensing pathway for food cart applicants. OAR 845-005-0329 outlines the basis upon which the OLCC may refuse to issue a license, and OAR 845-006-0309 establishes the requirements a licensee must meet for alcohol service. While the proposed rules are fairly straightforward, some may criticize the rules for being too restrictive.
For example:
Late last week, Oregon lawmakers shot down SB 1559, a bill that proposed what some called a compromise on liquor privatization in Oregon. It would have allowed grocery stores 10,000 square feet or more to sell liquor from their shelves, while keeping the Oregon Liquor Control Commission in control of the supply. Lawmakers sent
Stoel Rives LLP lawyers from the firm’s Beverage & Hospitality Group attended the 2014 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium last week in Sacramento, where they connected with new contacts, old friends, and current clients.
On Tuesday, Colin Hunter, Chris Hermann and Elaine Albrich visited winegrape growers, industry contacts and production facilities in Clarksburg, Lodi
