Posted on 09/01/2015 5:30:09 AM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court on Thursday, he is arguing that the EPA overstepped its authority in the case.
Wyoming rancher Andy Johnson believes a man’s land is a man’s land to use wisely. That’s why he built a stock pond for his animals and his family. The federal Environmental Protection Agency wants to teach Johnson a $16 million lesson in obedience to its will.
But Johnson is fighting back. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court on Thursday, he is arguing that the EPA overstepped its authority in the case.
“This goes a lot further than a pond,” he said. “It’s about a person’s rights. I have three little kids. I am not going to roll over and let [the government] tell me what I can do on my land. I followed the rules.”
Johnson, of Fort Bridger, built a stock pond for his animals back in 2012. He said he was sure to get every last necessary permit from the Wyoming authorities.
This was more than just a farming project. He and his wife Katie spent hours creating not just a watering hole, but a place for his family to enjoy ducks and geese, as well as a private playground for his children.
“We went through all the hoops that the state of Wyoming required, and I’m proud of what we built,” Johnson said. “The EPA ignored all that.”
The EPA claimed Johnson violated the Clean Water Act. They ordered him to return his property to the way it was before his work, with federal oversight required to be sure it was done their way. Dismantling his work within the 30 days the EPA gave him was “physically impossible,” Johnson said.
Johnson didn’t do what he was told. The EPA then started piling up fines of $37,000 per day, which since 2012 now total more than $16 million because he has not paid a cent.
Johnson admits he wants to win, but the case is about more than fines. It is about teaching his children how they should live.
“This is showing them that they shouldn’t back down,” Johnson said. “If you need to stand up and fight, you do it.”
Now that he’s managing a wetland, he needs to pour a toxic yellow mixture of lead and cadmium into the pond to show the EPA how it’s done!
How about somebody start a GoFundMe campaign for this patriot?
Where is the American Farm Bureau in this fight? Sucking its thumb and collecting its fees for the Bureau’s “Political Action Fund”? This is where the money should go, supporting a young land owner who is fighting the confiscation of his private property by a dictatorial government agency. The EPA was another bad idea by Richard Nixon that was far more damaging to the country than Watergate.
He doesn’t need money, he and everyone else needs real Americans to stand up and do what’s right.
EPA WOTUS rules became effective on August 28. Expect things to get very ugly, very fast.
Same pickle here almost.
Cleared some brush for hay field (40 acres).
Feds found out about it thru their sats comparing old data to new and wanted to know where my permits were.
I pretty much told them to pound sand and where to put their permits.
Have not heard back from them, YET.......but expect to.
Trump can kill with this one.
You got that right. The EPA essentially controls every square mile of the USA now.
He’s violating “The Clean Water Act” by building a POND!?
Must be some of that common core liberal logic at work here. I sure as hell cant figure out the logic.
Great comment.
“Trump can kill with this one.”
Trump would get my support if he promised to abolish the EPA and IRS and reign in the horrifying bureaucratic dictatorship we all have to contend with.
I honestly believe this would make Trump unbeatable.
I was just about to ask, since when do you need a permit to clear brush in Texas?
Then I googled around a bit and found this:
http://www.cem.va.gov/pdf/fedreqs.pdf
Pretty chilling. Fascism, plain and simple.
Any way we can get Trump’s attention to this?
He will lose the court case because the judge[s] work for the Government. He better have a plan B.
“He will lose the court case because the judge[s] work for the Government. He better have a plan B.”....
Go back to Post #2......There’s plan B.
Got ya.
I think there is more than just the EPA. There is the USDA involved too.
And, you have a pasture you want to change grass in. You got to plow and disc to reseed or sprig. Guess what, you better go get the proper paper work.
And if it is in or near watershed (and when is it hardly not) you will have to control run off into stream(s).
And, we have not even touched on spraying brush with herbicide.
Fricking government.
Chilling is right!
I suspect strongly that when “Unintended Consequences” starts to play out, there will be a large number of EPA drones on the lists.
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.