Posted on 09/24/2010 9:55:59 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Federal officials began a historic crackdown on pollution in the Chesapeake Bay on Friday - threatening to punish five mid-Atlantic states with rules that could raise sewer bills and put new conditions on construction.
The move by the Environmental Protection Agency is part of the biggest shakeup in the 27-year history of the Chesapeake cleanup.
On Friday, the agency went after Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York, which together account for more than 70 percent of the pollution that causes "dead zones" in the bay. The agency told the states that their plans contained "serious deficiencies" and said it could force them to make up the difference with expensive new measures.
It's too early to tell how this might translate into increased property taxes or new rules on farms. But it is clear that - by squeezing states, and calculating they will squeeze homeowners and farmers in turn - the administration is taking a significant political risk.
In an era when environmentalism seems to be losing steam, it is betting that residents of the Chesapeake region actually care enough to pay the full cost of saving the bay.
"I'm a little concerned that EPA could do something to damage that goodwill" toward the bay, said John Hanger, secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
These people are bombthrowers and murders at heart. They are vehement radicals with a grudge against humanity for the pitiful lives they think they’ve been forced to lead. I wouldn’t trust my damned dog with one of them alone, let alone my children, loved ones, or the environment. God will eventually take care of these people, hopefully. But it won’t come a damned minute too soon for my taste.
One of the top priorities of any conservative congress (assuming we ever see one) is to cut funding for the EPA by at least half. Elimination of the agency would be better but would take real courage and determination to accomplish in the face of the leftist media firestorm that would break out.
“Killing jobs is priority number one!”
Not if we revoke their license to Broadcast over the Public Airwaves, which should have been done 20 years ago.
They’re also coming after Florida for stormwater cleanup. Florida DEP is trying to come up with new rules that will satisfy them, but EPA has threatened that if they’re not satisfied then EPA will come up with the new stormwater rules for us.
We’re talking retrofit of practically all existing stormwater treatment systems to the tune of over $1 Billion just in the public sector. And on all new development we’ll be looking at significant increases in the amount of treatment that will be required. Wet treatment ponds will be a thing of the past, not efficient enough. Imagine, in a state where the seasonal high water table in most areas is within a couple feet of existing ground, no wet ponds for treating stormwater will be allowed. Because the economy isn’t depressed enough. But I’m sure we can absorb it.
Anyone that can develop any state of the art methods of removing nitrogen and phosphorous from stormwater has the possibility of making a ton of money.
If it moves, sue it. If it’s sitting still, sue it. If it’s dead, sue it.
EPA is chock full of meatheads.
I should also mention that all these stormwater rules are unfunded mandates on the municipalities. I won’t even bother going in to the fact that EPA has no legal/constitutional jurisdiction to do anything that they’re doing.
I was at a seminar yesterday regarding this very topic. Someone in the audience asked “What happens if municipalities just say we’re not going to make any retrofits, we have no money to even think about the design costs, let alone construction costs.” And the response from one of the Florida DEP reps included the words “fines” and “jail”.
It is interesting to note that Washington, DC, which is in the Chesapeake watershed, was not mentioned. Many of us who worked in natural resource management in this region think that DC is one of the largest polluters of the bay; its Blue Plains sewage treatment facility is hopelessly inadequate.
Beyond that, though, I think that this iniative is sorely overdue, and should have been adopted 20 years ago. It will be very popular with the sportsmen who use the Bay....most of whom are at least as conservative as the average Freeper.
“
But it is clear that - by squeezing states, and calculating they will
squeeze homeowners and farmers in turn - the administration is taking
a significant political risk.
“
The EPA/Obamites are making the same political mis-step here in
Columbia, MO.
The EPA is telling the city/county to clean up Hinkson Creek
(a small river that runs through town).
BUT...the EPA won’t give the city/county detailed instructions about
what actually needs to be done, apparently to assure they can continually
harass us ad infinitum.
Hopefully another dumb move that will bite the Dems on Nov. 2.
There is a sign on top of a mountain about an hour east of Pittsburgh, roughly 200 miles from Baltimore, warning you not to pollute the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. These people are on crack!
Why can’t something like this be handled by an interstate compact among the affected states, where decisions will be balanced between the competing interests of the real world? We have allowed far too many local decisions to be placed in the hands of a few political appointees in Washington with their own agendas, usually far removed from the interests of the states. Time to revive federalism and stop our states from avoiding unpopular decisions by ceding that power to the feds.
That would be the Chesapeake Bay Foundation established 40 years ago after the EPA did their original study.
Want to clean up the bay?
Check the Federal Government contribution to the problem first.
Then do away with the use of septic tanks.
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