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Suit takes aim at fort, other agencies (EnviroNutz sue Army)
Sierra Vista Herald, Sierra Vista Arizona ^ | June 2, 2005 | DIANE SAUNDERS

Posted on 06/02/2005 4:10:09 PM PDT by SandRat

SIERRA VISTA - The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon Society are seeking court orders to force several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and Fort Huachuca's commanding general, into compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act or the federal Endangered Species Act.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal district court in Tucson, names as defendants the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Defense and "Barbara Fast, in her official capacity as commanding general of Fort Huachuca."

The complaint alleges that the defendants have failed to comply with federal environmental requirements.

Col. Jonathan Hunter, Fort Huachuca garrison commander, said in a written statement, "Our position remains that Fort Huachuca is an outstanding environmental steward and has not violated any of the provisions of the (August 2002) Biological Opinion. The fort is an active member of the Upper San Pedro Partnership and continually implements effective water management strategies. The fort meticulously balances its national defense missions with its responsibility to protect its natural resources for future generations."

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order the agencies, via injunctions, to comply with NEPA, ESA, or both.

The complaint contends that the habitat for the endangered Huachuca water umbel, an aquatic plant, and the threatened southwestern willow flycatcher, a bird, are being destroyed by excessive water pumping in the Sierra Vista sub-basin of the San Pedro River.

The plaintiffs contribute to increased water usage and habitat destruction because they have failed to comply with requirements of NEPA or ESA, according to the complaint.

"The excessive ground water pumping needs to stop," said Dr. Robin Silver, Center for Biological Diversity board chairman.

In their complaint, the Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon ask that HUD, the Veterans Administration and SBA be ordered, via an injunction, to prepare the "applicable NEPA document" and analyze and disclose all environmental impacts of its action in the Sierra Vista sub-basin.

The plaintiffs also request that the court order, through an injunction, that HUD, the VA and SBA comply with the Endangered Species Act and consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the impacts of their actions in the Sierra Vista sub-basin on threatened and endangered species and their critical habitat.

The center and Audubon also ask the court to order the Army and Fish and Wildlife, via an injunction, to comply with the Endangered Species Act and "re-initiate formal consultation regarding the effects of Fort Huachuca's groundwater pumping on threatened and endangered species and their critical habitat."

Several local community leaders said Wednesday they do not see the lawsuit as posing a threat to Fort Huachuca when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission makes final recommendations to President George W. Bush later this year.

Sierra Vista City Manager Chuck Potucek said he does not see the lawsuit as a threat to Fort Huachuca in the current BRAC round.

He also did not want to predict what the court's decision might be regarding the center's and Audubon's requests for court orders.

"Who's to say what the outcome is going to be," Potucek said.

Potucek said much of the growth in the Sierra Vista area is not connected to Fort Huachuca, because the population on post has not changed. The city manager attributes growth in Sierra Vista and the surrounding area to an influx of retirees and federal agents from the Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration.

Growth in the area also is a reflection of population growth in throughout Arizona.

"There's a tremendous amount of growth statewide," Potucek said, adding other areas of the state are growing faster than Sierra Vista.

Tom Finnegan, president of the Fort Huachuca 50, an advocacy group that supports the post, also said the lawsuit will likely have no impact on the BRAC outcome.

"From all of our understanding, the fort has a pretty high standing, as far as military value," he said.

He explained that "military value" includes Fort Huachuca's land space, air space and electromagnetic environment.

Silver said Wednesday that he does not want to see Fort Huachuca close.

"The fort has been one of our better partners in conservation," he said, adding the fort and other federal agencies should do a better job of complying with NEPA and ESA.

Neil Levine, an attorney with the law firm Earthjustice, said the lawsuit is not an attempt to sway any BRAC decisions.

"The legal issue is not tied to what's going on in Washington," Levine said Wednesday. He added there has been a significant water deficit since 2002.

The next step is for the defendants to file responses. After the responses are filed, the litigation will proceed.

Levine also said several of the defendants may not have been aware until the suit was filed that insuring homes or guaranteeing mortgages have contributed to increased pumping from the underground aquifer.

"The first step is to recognize the impacts of these activities," Levine said.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: audubon; bp; bush; cbd; customs; dod; earthjustice; environment; esa; fish; homes; hud; immigration; lawsuitbrac; nepa; plants; retirees; river; sba; silver; va; veterans; wildlife
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The pitiful tale of the despicable action of a bunch of EnviroTaliban Terrorizing the community.
1 posted on 06/02/2005 4:10:12 PM PDT by SandRat
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To: HiJinx; Spiff; idratherbepainting; JackelopeBreeder; AZHSer; Sabertooth; Marine Inspector; ...

EnviroNutz terrorizing via lawsuits the Army and the Community


2 posted on 06/02/2005 4:11:47 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: Ann Archy

On another thread I saw that you're interested in Environment Reporting well here's one.


3 posted on 06/02/2005 4:16:32 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat

The biggest threat to the environment in the area are the million illegal aliens who have walked through the desert in this small area, damaging delicate soil and trashing the place.


4 posted on 06/02/2005 4:17:51 PM PDT by adam_az (It's the border, stupid!)
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To: farmfriend

bump


5 posted on 06/02/2005 4:18:14 PM PDT by adam_az (It's the border, stupid!)
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To: SandRat

quit leaving all those barrels of water to evaporate along the border.....close the border.....and require citizenship or legal presence to drink water in Az......problem solved.

OR.....Close the present Huachuca and reopen it as a ribbon along the border.....yeh, thats it :)


6 posted on 06/02/2005 4:19:02 PM PDT by Vn_survivor_67-68
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To: adam_az
and the EnviroTaliban says about that crickets chirping!!!!!!
7 posted on 06/02/2005 4:19:26 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: Vn_survivor_67-68

It's not us leaving the barrels of water; it's the bleeding heart LIBERALS and OBLs.


8 posted on 06/02/2005 4:23:36 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat
and consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the impacts of their actions

I heard some people talking on a farm oriented radio show awhile back. They claimed some of their local fish, game, and parks departments were being infiltrated by the crazies.
Pretty foolish. California should just say "Hey, close our military bases!"

9 posted on 06/02/2005 4:31:33 PM PDT by labette (to hit the ball and touch em all, a moment in the sun.)
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To: labette
Our base in AZ is a great one and this band of EnviroTaliban have been plaguing us for far too long.
10 posted on 06/02/2005 4:35:21 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat

In its 30 plus year miserable existence and billions of wasted dollars, the ESA has recovered 12 of 1,300 listed species, for a cumulative failure rate of 99.99%. Nine species have gone extinct. More than a dozen were listed due to data errors and subsequently removed.

If the ESA lived in the business world, creditors would have forced it into bankruptcy and stockholders would’ve long ago picked over its worthless bleached bones.

That the ESA is now a magnet for disaffected, private property-hating Marxists - homeless since the fall of the Berlin Wall - is well known.

We can identify three facts about the ESA:
1) It destroys private property.
2) It attracts homeless communists.
3) It doesn’t save endangered species.

In these ESA listings, Congress directed the agencies to give equal weight to cultural and economic impacts of a listing. Naturally these politicized agencies ignore congressional instructions and go on their merry way. Congress doesn’t say a peep.

This simply reinforces the fact that unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats are running land policy in the United States as a dictatorship. They are able to write law, execute the law and judge the law if challenged. The only way to challenge a corrupt bureaucracy is to engage in very expensive lawsuits running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. For the majority of landowners, this closes the judicial system to them.

What congress has created is an unelected, unaccountable branch of government consisting of a dictatorship of politically motivated bureaucrats who are above the law.

The ESA, with bureaucrats illegally writing the rules and interpreting the rules, gives property owners but one choice. If citizens don’t want to see their land come under the fascist rule of unelected bureaucrats, all habitat on private property that may appeal to endangered species must be destroyed.


11 posted on 06/02/2005 5:34:48 PM PDT by sergeantdave (Marxism has not only failed to promote human freedom, it has failed to produce food)
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To: SandRat
And sometimes the "Center for Biological Diversity takes a two-by-four to the side of the head.
12 posted on 06/02/2005 5:39:07 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: sergeantdave

Things come and things go. That's nature's way, especially when a more dominant species comes in. But these Watermelons just don't get it.


13 posted on 06/02/2005 5:39:15 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat

I don't see the objection here. Is there a better way to get sensible laws than by forcing the government to obey the same laws as the rest of us?


14 posted on 06/02/2005 5:40:39 PM PDT by Grut
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To: DuncanWaring
Yes they do when instead of always playing defense against them you play an offensive game. Any coach will tell you that if you want to win you better have an offensive game that's as good if not a little better than your defense. So far the offense has been ceded to the CBD and I'm furious.
15 posted on 06/02/2005 5:41:57 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: Grut

May your community at some point become the target of the CBD then you'll understand.


16 posted on 06/02/2005 5:44:49 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat
May your community at some point become the target of the CBD then you'll understand.

I understand that if it happens to us, the government shrugs it off. But if it happens to them, maybe they'll change the laws CBD is currently using.

17 posted on 06/02/2005 6:11:21 PM PDT by Grut
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To: Grut

The CBD attacks the fort because they can't really go after the town or the private water companies and the fort is too timid to come down on them like 200 tonne of bricks. In reality if you've read the book Rainbow Six and remember the villians that's what we're dealing with. The only thing that counts is nature and the CBD's self annoited enlightened few.


18 posted on 06/02/2005 6:14:22 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: SandRat
The Army does GREAT on the environment. Want to see deer? Drive around on an Army fort, they're all over the place.

If they seriously cared aboout the environment in the Sierra Vista area, they'd demand to have the illegal swarm stopped from trashing the countryside. Maybe they should sue Mexico.

19 posted on 06/02/2005 6:21:14 PM PDT by cookcounty ("We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts" ---Abe Lincoln, 1858.)
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To: cookcounty
"The Army does GREAT on the environment. Want to see deer? Drive around on an Army fort, they're all over the place."

I have to agree with you on this, though my experience is limited. I visited my sister and her husband, who was stationed at Minot AFB back in '99. I was utterly astounded at the green condition of the base and the wildlife there. HUGE jackrabbits wandering fearlessly everywhere, etc. The military neighborhood put to shame every similar private urban neighborhood I've ever seen. The residents obviously took great pride in their yards, and this at a time when the Clinton presidency was causing very low morale in the military.

20 posted on 06/02/2005 7:09:46 PM PDT by yooper (If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there......)
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