Supreme Court appears sympathetic to Idaho couple in 4-year battle with EPA

Washington Post ^ | Jan 10, 2012 | Robert Barnes

[epithermal]

Conservative members of the Supreme Court seemed outraged Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency’s actions in a four-year battle with an Idaho couple who want to build a house on land the EPA says contains sensitive wetlands.

[epithermal]

This article has a good satellite image of the property. Would someone please point out the wetlands to me. /S

[Venturer]

Everybody who is not an extreme envirowhacko is outraged at the EPA.

When their electric bills double even they may get the message.

[Sopater]

N. Idaho is God’s country. The EPA doesn’t belong anywhere near there.

[brownsfan]

We’re seeing here in America, what we used to watch from afar. That is, a tyrannical government, saying whatever it wants, and it is therefore fact. The Russians used to say some amazing things, and I’d wonder, who believes that garbage?

Now I know, no one believes it. But if the government says it, it’s fact, like it or not.

[AlmaKing]

Last sentence of the article indicates there are 5 votes in this couple’s favor.

[NativeNewYorker]

N. Idaho is God’s country.

It is certainly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

[I still care]

If the court comes down for the homeowners, watch all the libs in the MSM start moaning about dying birds. Heck, maybe they’ll even do a few spots like the polar bears.

Camille Paglia, who is a leftist, once bemoaned how she couldn’t understand how the left always seemed to be pushing for an all-controlling state. I break them down into two groups - stupid and/or evil.

[relictele]

Still have loads of coal miners who marched in 2008 and voted for a known greenie extremist and will probably do so again in 2012.

As of now they still can’t figure out why their hours are being cut.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[Paladin2]

The wet lands are to the NW on the other side of the road behind the property. I don't know if they are seasonal or not. The outlet of the wetlands likely came through the property and the lakeshore properties in front of the Sacketts.

Appearances of sympathy during SCOTUS oral arguments are not a good predictor of the opinion finally issued.

[Lancey Howard]

Camille Paglia, who is a leftist..

I know she's eccentric and flambuoyant in some ways, but she's pretty smart. I doubt she's a lefty.

[DJ MacWoW]

Americas Government Is Preying On Her People

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[Doors]

It’s infuriating that the government can tell you what you can and can’t do on property you bought and paid for. What do they expect these people to do? Just take a loss? Ridiculous!

[Whenifhow]

The Sacketts’ Testimony at PROPERTY WRONGS Hearing - 10/12/11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD8Od_8XXCE

[catbertz]

I just don’t understand how people maintain their sanity in situations like this. The aerial picture show everything you need to know. There are houses surrounding this postage stamp of land. I’ve seen elephant exhibit yards bigger than this parcel of land.

If there ever was a so called wetland in this location, it was developed many years ago.

[epithermal]

I have been trying to find this property on the Wetlands mapper here, but no luck yet: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.html

[Sopater]

It’s infuriating that the government can tell you what you can and can’t do on property you bought and paid for.

Legally, they can't, but the problem is who's to stop them? This case has been going on for 4 years. There should be damages paid to these landowners for what the gov't has put them through.

[Sopater]

I wish that I could have afforded to stay there.

[grame]

Four years of fighting Gov’t bureaucracy. I've only been in the battle 2 years and it takes a toll they can never repay, just so they can flex their muscle.

In the beginning I was naive enough to think that if someone said they would send you a letter or return your call they would. Now I understand they only have to make an entry into my file that they did the deed, without actually doing it.

What happened to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? Pursuit by the Gov’t of the people negates all of it. Oppression, thy name be Gov’t oversight!

[JakeS]

Folks, if the EPA is not eliminated or at least seriously reined in, you will not be able to afford to buy firewood, or wood to build with in five years.

The EPA wants all timber roads to have an EPA permit. Not only on public lands but on our privately held lands as well. I asked those who work for me, the ones who deal with the EPA, what the cost of compliance would be.

This morning I met with them, and asked if they had anything for me. The first thing I heard was: “Boss, you had better sit down, this is not going to be pretty”.

If they are half way right, an eight foot 2X4 will be around $8, a cord of mixed hardwood is going to cost you over $500 and you know those small wood lot owners, say under 10,000 acres? Well, if they owe money, they will be history. I’m not even sure that our existing roads will be exempted from the new EPA regs, it appears that the ones on private land will not be.

Add into this 100,000 direct timber jobs gone till the EPA paper work is submitted and the permits issued. Think of it like this, if my men are not in the woods working, why do I need operators, truck drivers, mechanics, book keepers, etcetera?

The Federal Government is destroying this nation, and the EPA is the hammer they are using to knock down the manufacturing, mining, agriculture segment of our society. Timber is part of AG.