Ever feel like the only thing our government does these days is lay awake thinking of ways to screw us?
Well, now the Obama administration has launched a new power grab -- and it’s coming at the expense of our property rights.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers have proposed new rules to define "waters of the United States."
Yes, if the law says they cannot do something as defined -- they redefine what ever they please to fit their needs. This new definition is supposed to clarify what "waters" are covered under the Clean Water Act and therefore what these two agencies can regulate.
Ever notice how eager agencies are to grab more and more just so that they can have more and more to regulate? It's as if they don't have enough to regulate already -- and they are over-regulating us to death!
Most people would consider a water body to be a river, a lake, maybe even a pond. But if they get their way, the Obama administration's new proposal could cover almost any type of water.
In the picture of the pasture above, at the base of that windmill is water for cattle. That water could be regulated by the Federal Government if the EPA has their way.
As incredible as that sounds, that's not all. Any hole in the ground, ditch, culvert, the slightest depressions in land that only sometimes may have water in it -- all could be deemed a "tributary" and covered under the rule.
Yes, even if that ditch is completely bone-dry almost every day of the year. And yes, it sounds so ludicrous -- but it is for real. And friends, the hard truth of the matter is that the Obama administration's overreach and the proposed rule changes are without limit.
Talk about State Control of everything down to the nat's ass. Friends, Communist China has nothing on Obama when it comes to trying to establish a Socialist/Communist state in America.
Under the Clean Water Act, property owners are already required to obtain costly and time-consuming permits if engaging in activities that affect "jurisdictional" waters. The new statutes would increase the number of permits and prohibit actions that cause absolutely no environmental harm at all. Such as, for example, a citizen might need a permit to water his our crops.
Yes, it is as bad as a Communist State where the Central Government controls every aspect of our lives. Frankly, this has to stop!
Common activities, from farming to home building, could require a permit.
Individuals who want to use their property for ordinary, everyday uses could be forced to get a permit.
Sackett v. EPA offers one egregious example of overzealous regulatory enforcement. In this 2012 Supreme Court case, the EPA sought the power to impose fines of $75,000 per day on a couple for placing gravel on virtually dry land to build a home in a built-out subdivision.
These new EPA rules that the Obama administration is proposing will likely lead to even more Supreme Court cases of abuse of regulatory power by this administration.
Make no mistake about it, this is an attack on property rights.
If the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers claim jurisdiction over more and more waters, then property owners will have to secure more and more permits.
Or, Americans will have to forget about additional projects because of the cost and time required to secure a permit from the government.
In a era when it is already tough enough for property owners to know if their property has jurisdictional water or not, because the proposed rule is so broad and vague, this only going to get far worse.
The definition of jurisdictional water may be far from clear, but the EPA sees all water as theirs. And yes, through regulating water, the EPA will have the power to severely limit how people can use their property.
Now, how about State's rights? Well, the EPA doesn't give a damn about State's rights as their proposed rule ignores the role that States have in protecting water resources.
Yes, though it is a role clearly defined in the Clean Water Act itself, the Obama administration's new rules will supersede that Act.
One interesting thing about this power grab, actually a land grab, is that the Clean Water Act is written in a way that it rejects this Federal power grab. Too bad no one in the Obama administration cares about what laws state when it come to regulating their behavior.
In April, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers sent a final version of the rule changes to the Office of Management and Budget for its approval.
It is up to us to contact Congress -- and force them to act quickly to stop this rule from going forward.
We need to force this Republican Congress to develop legislation that clearly defines what waters are regulated under the Clean Water Act and what must be left alone by the Federal and State governments.
we must contact our Representative to force Congress to pass legislation to demand that both of these agencies withdraw their proposed rules immediately.
It is bad enough that Americans are required to get a permit for just about everything under the sun these days when it come to building anything on our property, property owners shouldn’t have to be afraid of government and adversarial government agencies.
Americans should not have to have a permit for simply using their land for ordinary activities and making an honest living.
And yes, that's just the way I see it.
Tom Correa
