Posted on 04/13/2006 9:34:33 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
An environmental group sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday claiming a new regulation over air pollution in the Central Valley is too lax.
Earthjustice is challenging the rule over particulate matter with a lawsuit filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In particulate matter pollution, tiny specks of dust and dirt can linger in the air and become lodged in people's lungs, causing numerous health problems, such as asthma. Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the nation's most polluted air basins, is one of the leading causes of particulate matter in the region.
The agriculture regulation earlier this year required farmers to water service roads, plant grass between trees and buy updated equipment to help cut down on dust pollution.
That is not far enough to significantly cut down on pollution, said Paul Cort of Earthjustice.
"As approved, most growers and ranchers could do nothing and still comply with the rule, not improving air quality at all," he said.
The EPA's lawyers have not had a chance to look at the lawsuit and therefore can't comment on it, spokeswoman Wendy Chavez said.
a little something I ran across.
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House Votes to Gerrymander the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Sneak vote to split federal appeals court threatens environment
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=912
October 5th, 2004
Contact Info:
Cat Lazaroff or Glenn Sugameli, 202-667-4500
Washington DC-- The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to split into three new courts the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court, a move that would undermine the consistency of rulings that apply to nine Western states, Pacific coastal issues and three-quarters of all federal lands.
“This amendment is an underhanded and last-minute effort to divide the pool of judges along ideological lines,” said Glenn Sugameli, Senior Legislative Counsel at Earthjustice. “Everyone from the American Bar Association to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes this as a bad idea.”
The House narrowly approved an amendment unveiled just last night by Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID), seeking to split the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals into three separate appellate courts: a Ninth Circuit overseeing only California, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam; a new 12th Circuit serving Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana; and a new 13th Circuit serving Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.
This controversial amendment bypassed the House Judiciary Committee and now threatens the viability of an underlying bill to create more federal judgeships, S. 878. The amendment to split the Ninth Circuit could prevent the bill from becoming law.
Anti-environmental special interests have long sought to increase their ability to “judge-shop” by dividing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals into a number of smaller appeals courts.
Polluters hope that creating these new circuits will boost their ability to get anti-environmental extremists, like failed Ninth Circuit Appellate Court nominee William G. Myers III, into lifetime federal judgeships—thereby increasing their chances of winning anti-environmental rulings. In a letter sent to House members this morning, eight national conservation groups declaimed this attempt to divide and conquer the Ninth Circuit.
In 1990, Pete Wilson, former Republican Governor and U.S. Senator from California, condemned efforts to split the Ninth Circuit as “environmental gerrymandering” by those who had been angered by rulings upholding and enforcing environmental laws.
Today, opposition to a Ninth Circuit split includes the vast majority of Ninth Circuit judges; Mary Schroeder, the current Chief Judge; Senior Judge Clifford Wallace, a former Chief Judge nominated by President Richard Nixon; and Alex Kozinski, a conservative judge appointed to the Ninth Circuit in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan.
Other opponents to the proposed split include Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Democrat Governor Gary Locke of Washington, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Arizona, the Oregon State Bar, the Hawaii State Bar Association, as well as numerous prominent jurists and legal advocates.
Along with environmental concerns, opponents of a Ninth Circuit split have noted the enormous expense associated with creating two entirely new circuit courts of appeals, including the construction of new courthouses and infrastructure, and the hiring of new judges and staff.
“Splitting the Ninth Circuit would not only be bad for the environment—it would be fiscally irresponsible as well,” Sugameli said. “Already, our federal court system is in a virtually unprecedented fiscal crisis, which has led to suspension of new court construction and layoffs of court employees. Why spend nearly 150 million dollars to solve a problem that doesn’t exist?”
Earthjustice
Formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
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The Sierra Club recently endorsed angelides and westly and snubbed the Gub.. considering all the Gub holds in common with EarthJustice environmentally, it makes ya wonder how the farmers in the Valley feel , Looks like they will be getting screwed , as usual from both sides.
They aren't even able to go into a primary this June and have a say in a primary as to who they would support and could expect support from in return.
how about them apples?
Nope. Only the little guys will get screwed. The big land speculators, into farming only as a way to hold the land off the tax rolls until they develop, are probably looking for a bailout along the way to sweeten the deal. Those into ag long term are, similar to Bill Jones, probably looking forward to subsidized ethanol and want to consolidate supply first.
Think Brer Rabbit and the briar patch. It's why Earth-Just-Us gets so much corporate foundation money.
sarc/off
It's like living in the Twilight Zone.
However, in this case the particulate matter pollution has lodged in enviromentalists gray matter causing backfire flatulence.
That is one theory I can readily buy into. ;-)
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