Commentary: EPA and Corps plan to seize control of all water
Jun. 01, 2011
The PPJ Gazette
A full scale attack by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to take control of all water from any source whatsoever is under way. What these agencies are attempting is an end run around water and land rights. These agencies are constructing regulations and fictional jurisdictional control. We cannot depend on our courts or the federal government to reign in and control these agencies as they are both privately owned corporations that masquerade as public service agencies. While congress may express their concerns about the police state actions being constructed, they have no authority or power to dictate what these agencies do under private contract law.
While these agencies may be empowered unlawfully on the federal level, it is YOUR GOVERNOR who opens the door and allows them access inside your state. It is YOUR GOVERNOR who decides which privately owned corporate state agency will contract with these agencies allowing them access. Without this agency to agency corporate contracting…..the EPA, FDA, USDA, and the Army Corps of Engineers have no authority inside the geographical boundaries of your state. After you write to your federal representatives who most likely will ignore your comments, pay a visit to your governor and demand that he or she deny the EPA and the Corps access to your state.
We can stop them right at our state lines but it will require you to get up and do something!
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Deadline For Comments July 1. Mailing Deadline Friday, June 17th. #4
EPA and Corps Clean Water Act Regulations Guidance Comments For The Record
To the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
[EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0409; FRL-9300-6]: Info: EPA (206) 553-0163 ALRA (360) 687-3087
To Whom It May Concern Regarding: EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Federal Register publication Regarding Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act.
I believe the EPA and Corps of Engineers are moving to seize control of all U.S. waters. Since he who controls the water controls the land, these new slight-of-hand regulations would largely give the EPA and Corps substantial controls over all private and Federal land as well as nearly all waters. The guidance plan will, once finalized, give EPA broader authority to regulate bodies of water that had been the responsibility of state managers.
The EPA’s push for greater reach over Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction amounts to the agency rewriting “two U.S. Supreme Court cases,” while the agency is ignoring concerns of Congress.
EPA and the Corps have attempted to make an end run around two Supreme Court decisions that limited their authority under the CWA by issuing a draft Guidance document giving field staff a plethora of approaches to make jurisdictional determinations.
Through vague definitions and broad interpretations laid out in this draft Guidance, EPA and Corps have once again shown little regard for the practical implications of their actions or the intent of Congress.
The Guidance is a clear threat to property rights, allowing EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers unprecedented control over all U.S. waters and therefore nearly all land.
This is a direct hit on the private property rights of farmers, ranchers, miners, loggers and especially local communities whose economic ecosystem is under attack by these new regulations (Guidance). If approved, this Guidance will lead to the bankruptcy of landowners, builders, farmers, ranchers and all others who must use the land for food and fiber.
Over 150 Members of Congress have signed a letter saying this push to super water regulation is a vast overreach by the EPA and the Corps. Every landowner should call their Congressman and Senators at (202) 224-3121 to express their concerns over this extreme power grab.
While the EPA and the Corps may claim that the Guidance is legally nonbinding, the truth is the Administration has defined regulatory terms that will ultimately lead to over-regulation and intrusion into individual and states’ rights.
Once again the EPA is trying to broaden its jurisdiction without authority to do so. Changes to the regulatory scheme of the Clean Water Act should be done through a transparent notice and rule-making or legislative action, not vague definitions and broad interpretations that empower EPA and Corps officials with informal and ambiguous controls over private lands and uses of Federal lands.
Below are additional concerns and comments regarding the EPA and Corps Guidance. The EPA and Corps Guidance have little to do with clean water and are mostly about land use control.
I agree with the comments above. I know I can cross out any I may not agree with. Please allow these comments to be submitted for the official record of the EPA and Corps Regulatory Guidance and include my personalized comments and responses to the listed statements below in the record. Please consider a photocopy of this document as valid as the original.
Signature _________________ Print Your Name __________________
Dear Private Property and Multiple-Use Advocate:
You must send your comments in immediately in the enclosed envelope. ALRA will hand deliver your comments to the EPA and Corps no matter how you answer regarding the statements below. It is your opinion the EPA and Corps are seeking with this process.
It is imperative that you act now. The EPA-Corps Guidance may be the biggest threat to property rights yet. The EPA and Corps are trying to overturn two U.S. Supreme Court decisions using the new Guidance to define those decisions away and give massive jurisdiction back to the Corps of Engineers and EPA.
The EPA and Corps plan to overturn the Rapanos and SWANCC Supreme Court Decisions of 2006 and 2001. That would give the Corps of Engineers and EPA jurisdiction over nearly all private and Federal land and get Corps and EPA jurisdiction back to where it was before the Supreme Court limited that jurisdiction to navigable waters.
You must fight to keep the EPA and Corps out of your backyard. The EPA and Corps Guidance would give federal agencies almost unlimited control over your land, your water and that of all your neighbors.
Please send your Comments in quickly. Do not put it off. Tomorrow may be too late. The EPA and Corps are trying to ram these new regulations through before people like you realize how dangerous they are.
Alert — Be aware of the legal concept called “laches” or “sleeping on your rights.” You may lose future legal rights later if you fail to comment on the proposed EPA and Corps Guidance. Please send this document and possibly a letter opposing the EPA-Corps Guidance. It can be as short as one page or longer.
In the next section you will see a series of statements about the EPA-Corps Guidance. American Land Rights agrees with all the statements but you don’t have to. Below is a New Comment Questionnaire for you to fill out and mail back in the enclosed envelope.
This Comment Questionnaire is about helping you get your Comments to the EPA and Corps. They want to know what you think. It is critical that you write your responses to the statements with your opinion and not what you think we would want you to write. You are free to disagree with us. You can add comments to each statement or change the statements to fit your preference. (Over)
Please circle or otherwise mark your choice or change each statement below to fit your views.
–1. The jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the 1972 Clean Water Act should not be expanded beyond Congressional Intent through “Guidance” documents, back room regulations or subsequent rule making.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–2. EPA and the Corps of Engineers should not be permitted to use “Guidance” documents to circumvent Congress, the courts, and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–3. The Clean Water Act of 1972 and subsequent agency guidance or rule making should not be used as tools for national land use control.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–4. Jurisdiction of intrastate waters should remain with state and local governments.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–5. An extension of at least 90 days beyond the July 1, 2011 deadline for public comment should be granted to allow proper review and analysis of the full impact of the proposed guidance.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–6. Expanding regulations that adversely impact businesses, individuals, and communities, especially during a time of economic hardship, is irresponsible.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–7. Congress, EPA, and the COE should conduct hearings, including field hearings, prior to the implementation of any guidance or regulations under the Clean Water Act.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–8. “Regulatory Takings” that devalue private property should be compensated under the Takings Clause of the Constitution.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–9. Access to and use and enjoyment of public lands and waters should be guaranteed under provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–10. ‘Environmental’ organizations have become too radical and have too much power and influence over EPA, the Corps, and other federal agencies.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–11. Clean Water Act rules, and other environmental programs are often not about environmental protection, but about control over land, water, people and communities; water quality and other environmental goals should be driven from the bottom up instead of the from the top down.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
–12. Congress should consider legislation that will curb the excesses and overreach of the EPA, Corps and other federal natural resource agencies.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
– 13. States rights on land and water management and jurisdiction should be protected at all costs; EPA and COE guidance and regulations should not be implemented without the approval of the appropriate state and local elected officials.
Agree…..Disagree…..No Opinion
(Your written comments here are essential if you want the EPA, Corps and ultimately the courts to really pay attention to this document. You are free to use as much space as you need. It is critical that you personalize some comments below before sending this important document to EPA – Corps. You can borrow from the statements above. You can also send a copy to your Congressman at: Honorable _______ US House of Representatives,Washington,DC20515
(Open space for your personal comments.) (If needed, use additional sheets or attach a personal letter)
To validate your comments please fill in completely (PRINT or TYPE) and be sure to sign.
Signature______________________________Name____________________________________________
E-Mail________________________________ Fax ________________ Phone________________
Address_______________________________ Town______________________ State_____ Zip_________
Please mail by Friday, June 17th. Please do not fail to send this comment questionnaire even if late.
Be sure to mail to American Land Rights at PO Box 400, Battle Ground,WA 98604. The EPA requires that you send your comments plus two copies. ALRA will copy and deliver the documents to the EPA and Corps.