Posted on 12/07/2010 4:50:07 PM PST by NormsRevenge
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that air quality regulators in California's smog-laden San Joaquin Valley have the right to charge home builders a fee to control their pollution emissions.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the local air district's rule requiring developers to reduce emissions from new housing projects by building features like bicycle lanes and energy-efficient cooling systems. If they don't do enough to preserve air quality, they must pay fees that have averaged about $500 per house.
The valley, stretching 240 miles from Stockton to Bakersfield, is one of the dirtiest air basins in the nation for emissions that create ozone, the main ingredient of smog.
The Fresno-based district was the first in California to impose such a rule in 2005, and other regions still look to it as a model to control pollution from construction equipment and suburban sprawl.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
If you won't give it to us willingly, we will take it from you.
You had the chance to make it easy on yourself and you blew it.
Bicycle lanes and energy efficient cooling systems.... or a $500 fine?
Why would any builder put in thousands of dollars of improvements to avoid a $500 fine.
Regardless, this is one reason why the California economy is in the toilet.
It doesn’t help that congress cut off water to the farmers there and what once was cropland and orchards in now a dust bowl.
After the Nov elections, we now have a 2/3rd majority vote requirement to raise fees and levies, as has been the case with taxes.
Look for more fines from all manner of state agencies.
Ruh, roh ... wait until they figure out the source of the ozone is from all of the zots, coming off the FR server farm.
And to think our ancestors revolted against a government in which which we had no representation over a minuscule stamp tax. The difference then is that there was no court system to enslave us.
could be the opposite, that the plaintiffs were looking to the Federal court to say that only the Feds could place environmental regulations. In that case, this would be a victory for states rights.
The Self-Righteous Self-Annointing EnvironMentalists and the GovernMental worshipping EnvironMentalists!!!
They can have their pews, but home builders and buyers cannot without a stinkin punitive fee!!!
EPA sets the standards and the states determine how to meet the standards.
EPA has zero legitimate constitutional power to grant anything to a state.
Incidentally, because CA began regulating air quality prior to FedGov's Clean Air Act, CA is the only state allowed to set higher standards than FedGov.
They have enough unused houses in the Central Valley to last the next 40 years. Get back to me then, and I’ll be upset about this ruling.
And of course most people think those mean Home Builders are going to just pay this with there money. All they are going to do is raise the price on the house so just like any other business tax or fee it is passed on to the consumer...
aka crooks and treehuggers. ;-)
The taxing power outside legislative bodies is tyranny.
Every year, sometime around Oct 1, Congress appropriates the money for EPA.
There is no legitimate power to assign this power to another individual or group.
When unelected administrative agencies write regulations with the force of law, execute these regs and determine punishment for violation, it is the very definition of tyranny.
You need to come up with some money, go out and hire lawyer who practices in the area of constitutional law, and file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the EPA, and/or Dept of Interior, and/or Dept of Ed, and/or whoever else you want to sue.
There are lots of kooks around who might contribute money to your cause
I didn’t think you could refute my point.
BTW, as a result of the conservative tidal wave, my state recently passed a law that requires state agencies to get legislative approval for any rule or reg that costs society more than $1 million over five years.
It should become a model for our federal government.
You need to study our history and founding.
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