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So two stories popped up today in my news feed, both concerning the EPA.

 

In the first case, the EPA has to pay a convicted child molester $55k to retire because they couldn't fire him.  Never mind that he is a convicted felon.

 

In the second case, the EPA attempted to fine a Wyoming man for building a stock pond on his property.  It doesn't matter that the man obtained a permit from the State of Wyoming to build the pond, and it also doesn't matter that the pond actually is better for the environment.

 

Here's a really good point in the article.

Quote: 

"The EPA never identified any environmental problems with the pond
," Wood told FoxNews.com. "In fact, it's been a boom for the environment."

 
An EPA spokesman was not immediately available for comment when contacted Tuesday. The government had said Johnson violated the Clean Water Act
by building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers and claimed material from his pond was being discharged into other waterways.
 
As the EPA was demanding the pond be ripped out, Ray Kagel, a former federal regulator, claimed it was a benefit to the environment by creating wetlands, habitat for fish and wildlife -- and cleaned the water that passes through it.
 
Wood said Tuesday that the EPA has a "broad interpretation" of the Clean Water Act and noted that federal law clearly exempts stock ponds from the rules of the agency.
 
Under Supreme Court precedent, the federal government can regulate waters only if they have a "significant nexus" to navigable waters. Johnson's pond drains to a manmade irrigation ditch, where the water is used for agriculture
, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation.

Yes, let's get rid of the EPA. Hope you like chemical spills and fondly remember the events surrounding the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon.

The EPA is just a bunch of un-elected boobs that make rules on a whim. They need to go and the NEA needs to go to along with the IRS.

Quote:Yes, let's get rid of the EPA. Hope you like chemical spills and fondly remember the events surrounding the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon.

 

Quote:Yes, let's get rid of the EPA. Hope you like chemical spills and fondly remember the events surrounding the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon.

 

So the EPA could have prevented both?  Oh wait...  both incidents happened AFTER the creation of the EPA.

Let's do it! Oh wait, it's not gonna happen.


What's the 3 again? The epa, department of educations, and uhhh... uhmmmm... epa, education... gosh, I forgot. Oops

Quote:Let's do it! Oh wait, it's not gonna happen.


What's the 3 again? The epa, department of educations, and uhhh... uhmmmm... epa, education... gosh, I forgot. Oops

 

Easy there Guv'nah.

Quote:Let's do it! Oh wait, it's not gonna happen.


What's the 3 again? The epa, department of educations, and uhhh... uhmmmm... epa, education... gosh, I forgot. Oops

Hold on, Rick Perry wears eyeglasses now. Obviously that means he is smarter now!

Quote:So the EPA could have prevented both?  Oh wait...  both incidents happened AFTER the creation of the EPA.

 

Nope, but in the age old tale that most people refuse to believe; letting companies do what they want without government oversight is a sure path to companies abusing their position and power. Heck even now the EPA is almost completely hamstrung by the ability of corporations to lobby against the funding each time the EPA dares threaten their bottom line. 

When government waste is brought up, liberals always target the military (which is mandated by The Constitution) but don't bat an eye when it comes to useless government agencies bureaucracies.  What exactly does the EPA do?  What does the Department of Education really do?  there is a laundry list of government agencies that really don't accomplish anything, yet our tax dollars fund them.

Quote:When government waste is brought up, liberals always target the military (which is mandated by The Constitution) but don't bat an eye when it comes to useless government agencies bureaucracies.  What exactly does the EPA do?  What does the Department of Education really do?  there is a laundry list of government agencies that really don't accomplish anything, yet our tax dollars fund them.

 

Here's a list of environmental legislation the EPA is involved with. Below that is a more detailed summary of the various activities they perform including the Safe Drinking Water Act that ensures you have clean, drinkable water piped into your home at any time. It's real easy to educate yourself on what a government agency does with even just the simplest of Google searches, but let's not let knowledge stand in the way of your preconceived and uninformed opinions. 

Quote:Here's a list of environmental legislation the EPA is involved with. Below that is a more detailed summary of the various activities they perform including the Safe Drinking Water Act that ensures you have clean, drinkable water piped into your home at any time. It's real easy to educate yourself on what a government agency does with even just the simplest of Google searches, but let's not let knowledge stand in the way of your preconceived and uninformed opinions. 

 

Looking over that list of "Programs," there's not much there that is necessary, and certainly not at the cost in $$$ and harmful mistakes the EPA causes to individuals, such as was referenced above.


 

The EPA was needed when it was first created. Now it's main goal. like most federal agencies over 20 years old, is to keep the bureaucracy intact.

Quote:Nope, but in the age old tale that most people refuse to believe; letting companies do what they want without government oversight is a sure path to companies abusing their position and power. Heck even now the EPA is almost completely hamstrung by the ability of corporations to lobby against the funding each time the EPA dares threaten their bottom line. 

 

So how does that relate to the articles that I posted above?  Why is the EPA going after a private citizen (not a corporation) because he did something on his own property that is actually good for the environment?  They do so citing the Clean Water Act, yet they have no power over waters unless it has to do with being navigable.  The man's pond (fed by and drained by a natural stream) dumps into a man-made ditch used for agriculture.

 

It's a clear example of excess government reach and excess government waste.

 

Here's another example.  Most of us, if a battery goes dead (it doesn't matter what kind of battery it is) we take it out of our device, throw it in the trash can and install a new battery.  I work on a military base, watched closely by the government.  We actually have to not only tape the battery up, but we can't throw it in the trash.  We have to put it in a separate container, "clearly marked" for pickup by some company for "proper disposal".  What does that company do?  Throw them in the trash.  If we get caught throwing a battery away in the trash, we would get fined and possibly lose our contract.  Those are EPA rules.

 

Give me an example of how the EPA has actually done anything good... or even actually done anything.

Quote:So how does that relate to the articles that I posted above?  Why is the EPA going after a private citizen (not a corporation) because he did something on his own property that is actually good for the environment?  They do so citing the Clean Water Act, yet they have no power over waters unless it has to do with being navigable.  The man's pond (fed by and drained by a natural stream) dumps into a man-made ditch used for agriculture.

 

It's a clear example of excess government reach and excess government waste.

 

Here's another example.  Most of us, if a battery goes dead (it doesn't matter what kind of battery it is) we take it out of our device, throw it in the trash can and install a new battery.  I work on a military base, watched closely by the government.  We actually have to not only tape the battery up, but we can't throw it in the trash.  We have to put it in a separate container, "clearly marked" for pickup by some company for "proper disposal".  What does that company do?  Throw them in the trash.  If we get caught throwing a battery away in the trash, we would get fined and possibly lose our contract.  Those are EPA rules.

 

Give me an example of how the EPA has actually done anything good... or even actually done anything.

Ever heard the phrase "anecdotal evidence is not evidence"?

Quote:Let's do it! Oh wait, it's not gonna happen.


What's the 3 again? The epa, department of educations, and uhhh... uhmmmm... epa, education... gosh, I forgot. Oops

 

The Department of Energy is the worst of the three. It was formed in the late 1970s with the one goal of ending the US dependence on foreign oil. After 40 years of failure it is still going strong, wasting more money than ever.


 

Thanks to fracking the US has finally achieved independence from foreign oil, but the Department of Energy contributed nothing.

Quote:Looking over that list of "Programs," there's not much there that is necessary, and certainly not at the cost in $$$ and harmful mistakes the EPA causes to individuals, such as was referenced above.


 

The EPA was needed when it was first created. Now it's main goal. like most federal agencies over 20 years old, is to keep the bureaucracy intact.

 

Bingo.

 

Next I would like some of our liberal friends and/or the "undocumented admin" (DragonFury) to tell us what exactly the Department of Education does for us.

Quote:Ever heard the phrase "anecdotal evidence is not evidence"?

 

Why yes I have.  So can you cite an overall example of why we need the EPA?

Quote:Why yes I have.  So can you cite an overall example of why we need the EPA?

Can you read? Because if you can, you should read my earlier post that pointed out the Safe Drinking Water Act and including the link to numerous laws and programs the EPA is involved in. 

Maybe the EPA should take a trip to Flint Michigan and tell them how safe and clean they have made their drinking water.

Quote:Can you read? Because if you can, you should read my earlier post that pointed out the Safe Drinking Water Act and including the link to numerous laws and programs the EPA is involved in. 

 

The Safe Drinking Water Act could include the laws/rules that the EPA wrote (some of them sensible, others not so much).  There really is no need for 15,193 government employees to write and/or enforce the rules under the legislation.

 

Can you explain why there was a need for the EPA to go after the man that built a pond on his own property?  Can you explain why a federal employee can't be fired for being a convicted felon?