OBAMA ADMINISTRATION READY TO GRAB CONTROL OF MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PRIVATE LAND

The EPA is already out of control and we hear constant stoies about its abuses of American property owners. If this goes into effect they will have incredible control over how many homeowners and businesses use their private land. Land of the free is ever less free!

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION READY TO GRAB CONTROL OF MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PRIVATE LAND

April 18, 2014 by Dave Jolly

Do you own any land that has any stream, creek or wash running through it? What about a dry wash that only flows after a heavy rain?

If so, be prepared to learn that the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency plan to take control of that part of your private property. In March, the two organizations proposed a new Waters of the United States rule that would clarify which streams and wetlands, including those that are intermittent, seasonal or rain-dependent, would be protected under the Clean Water Act.

What exactly would that mean? It would mean that Waters of the United States would allow the EPA to have absolute power and authority over any stream, creek or wash that has been dry for hundreds of years, throughout the US. The authority would not only be for those waterways on public land but also for every one on private property.

Imagine that you live somewhere in the southwest and have the smallest of a dry wash that runs across your backyard. The new rule proposal would give the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers total control over that portion of your yard. They could and will dictate whether you put up a fence over the wash, clean out or channel the wash or even pipe it and put it underground.

Or imagine a land developer that purchases land on which to build a hospital or apartments, homes, business offices or stores. The developer spends several million dollars on his development only tohave the land Gestapo come in and tell him he can’t develop the land because of a dry wash that runs through the middle of it.

Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) is Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee described the proposed rule as:

“The biggest land grab in the history of the world.”

“[The] economic impact of that would be profound.”

“A community needing to build on private land that had on it one of these so-called streams that you considered a waterway under the new rule would have to travel thousands, hundreds of miles to D.C., to get approval.”

“[It] would absolutely freeze economic activity in this country.”

“[The proposal is] proof in and of itself of the mal-intent of this administration toward the private sector.”

When Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) questioned Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator, about how the new rule would affect the civil liberties of Americans and their ability to conduct business, McCarthyresponded:

“Navigable” waters, which was the central point of litigation in a battle between the Supreme Court and the EPA regarding the Clean Water Act.”

“We are clarifying protection for the upstream waters that are absolutely vital to downstream communities.”

“Clean water is essential to every single American, from families who rely on safe places to swim and healthy fish to eat, to farmers who need abundant and reliable sources of water to grow their crops, to hunters and fishermen who depend on healthy waters for recreation and their work, and to businesses that need a steady supply of water for operations.”

Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works added:

“[The nation’s waters and wetlands] are valuable resources that must be protected today and for future generations.”

“Today’s rulemaking will better protect our aquatic resources, by strengthening the consistency, predictability, and transparency of our jurisdictional determinations. The rule’s clarifications will result in a better public service nationwide.”

Ellen Sauerbrey