Sacketts’ wetlands fight about liberties

Spokane Spokesman Review ^ | February 18, 2012 | Damien M. Schiff

[WilliamIII]

They asked for a hearing. Didn’t they ask EPA for a hearing on whether their lands fell within the statute? They did ask for a hearing, and EPA said no.”

Those were the words of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during U.S. Supreme Court oral argument last month in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

She wasn’t the only justice to express impatience with the EPA’s treatment of Mike and Chantell Sackett, the couple from Priest Lake, Idaho, who face staggering federal fines after the EPA declared their small parcel to be “wetlands.”

As the Washington Post reported, “Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared troubled by the EPA’s position that Mike and Chantell Sackett do not have the right to go to court to challenge the agency’s wetlands decision.”

Indeed, all Americans should be troubled. If the EPA can turn the Sacketts’ life upside down without having to justify its actions to a court, then no property owners anywhere in the country are safe from arbitrary action by this unpredictable agency.

[Billyv]

This is standard with Federal agencies, almost all of them I know of have their own internal appeals process and state they are the final arbitor of any disagreement. You are also guilty and must prove to the agency your innocence - so much for the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Without this internal closed process your rights could not be violated (the gov would be prevented from totalitarian strong arming of citizens).

[SF_Redux]

[Wings-n-Wind]

[rktman]

These folks should have had the local sheriff escort these EPA clowns off the property and trespassed them. I also believe they should have continued building their house. But of course the contractors would have balked I’m sure. They would then have had wetlands due to folks p’ing out of fear of the EPA. Sad. What is even more scary is that RBG kind of found this process “troubling”. Isn’t this the same person that doesn’t want the “newly” developing democracies in the middle east to NOT use the US constitution as a guideline? Don’t think the islamists will be installing any Bill of Rights any time soon.

[RedMDer]

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[af_vet_rr]

You beat me too it...Really wished they had continued with making the rest of the books into movies. Sam Elliott was perfect as Tell Sackett, and Tom Selleck as Orrin. Ben Johnson as Cap...the whole cast was perfect.

But enough reminiscing. I've been following this, we've got some land that we worry about something like this.