Posted on 01/17/2012 8:11:13 AM PST by WilliamIII
Justice Samuel Alito seemed none too pleased last week with the governments argument in a case pitting property owners against the Environmental Protection Agency.
Four years ago, Mike and Chantell Sackett bought property to build their dream home near a lake in Idaho. After obtaining local permits the Sacketts began work, pouring in some land fill. But their work came to a screeching halt when they were visited by officials from the Environmental Protection Agency. The couple was slapped with a compliance order asserting that the land is subject to the Clean Water Act and that they had illegally placed fill material into protected wetlands on their property.
A violation of the compliance order could cost the Sacketts tens of thousands of fines per day. They sought to challenge the EPAs finding in court, but were told that that they needed to go through a permitting process first, and only after the EPA moved to enforce the order could they seek judicial review.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Without private property, there is no freedom.
The EPA needs to have its powers severely curtailed.
The EPA needs to be eliminated.
Actually I think we could live without the ATF and the EPA and the gropers at the airport. All three are as useless as tits on a boar hog.
The list of gummit entities that we can do without is endless...........
God bless Associate Justice Alito!
Too bad the Supreme Court can´t muster the courage to vet Obama.
The same applies to most state run departments of ecology and/or environment.
We had a lawyer friend who took on the state version of the EPA in Connecticut about 15 years ago, in a case where they refused permission for someone to build an access road into their house because there was a puddle in the ground. The lawyer won, and was awarded a million and a half to split with the owner.
We know someone down the hill from us in Vermont who planned to move their ancient house back a hundred more feet from the road, so the headlights would glare into their windows and some car coming down the hill wouldn’t crash into the house. But the town had put a culvert under a class 4 dirt road that ran just above their house, and the water had collected where they wanted to go. Some “wetlands” plant had started to grow in the puddle. Permission refused. This was a small “wetland” that had been caused by the recently installed culvert, and which they would have moved just a little further down the slope.
These regulators are NUTS.
They aren't exactly nuts as much as they are on a mission to spread their religion of Gaia worship. The armies of environmental bureaucrats who have studied 'opinion' and absolutely believe in global warming wetland sanctity and human evils are embedded in all departments of ecology, environment, planning, permitting and zoning. They now control water boards, shoreline management committees, storm water run off departments, traffic management and eventually, human housing administration where they hope to design and dictate where and how everyone will live.
...In Monday's hearing, Justice Elena Kagan questioned why the Sacketts didn't simply file for a wetlands permit. "Couldn't you have gotten the legal determination that you wanted through that process?" Attorneys for the Sacketts say the process would be exceptionally costly and time-consuming, especially when they maintain that there is no need for such a permit because their lot doesn't contain wetlands.
The epa-Dragon needs to feed.
The epa-Dragon needs to feed.
Well, then, if you can’t afford to navigate all the hoops and hurdles we put in front of you, you shouldn’t be owning property. Owning property should be reserved for the ruling class, like us. Why do you think we even PUT those hurdles and hoops up if not to filter who gets to own property?
/kaganthink
Indeed!
As a reminder, Justice Alito is 75, as is Justice Kennedy. At that age, there exists the strong possibility that the next President might be replacing one of these men, if not both of them.
Oops. I meant Justice Scalia.
A titted-boar hog won't throw you in jail, shoot you, stomp your cat, kick your pregnant wife in the belly, have your citizenship revoked and you tossed in Gitmo for talking back to them, etc., etc., etc. How I wish that these dictatorial agencies were merely useless.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.