Posted on 09/29/2005 4:42:21 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON – The House on Thursday passed legislation that could greatly expand private property rights under the environmental law that is credited with helping keep the bald eagle from extinction but also has provoked bitter fighting.
By a vote of 229-193, lawmakers approved a top-to-bottom overhaul of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, perhaps the nation's most powerful environmental law. The law has led to contentious battles over species such as the spotted owl, the snail darter and the red-legged frog.
The rewrite faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Republican Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, head of the panel that oversees the law, has expressed concerns about the House bill.
The bill would require the government to compensate property owners if steps to protect species thwarted development plans. It also would make political appointees responsible for some scientific determinations and would stop the government from designating "critical habitat," which limits development.
The changes were pushed through by the chairman of the House Resources Committee, GOP Rep. Richard Pombo. The California rancher contends the current rules unduly burden landowners and lead to costly lawsuits while doing too little to save plants and animals.
"You've got to pay when you take away somebody's private property. That is what we have to do," Pombo told House colleagues. "The only way this is going to work is if we bring in property owners to be part of the solution and to be part of recovering those species."
Many Democrats and moderate Republicans said Pombo's bill would eliminate important protections for species and clear the way for large handouts from the government to property owners.
The bill sets a "dangerous precedent that private individuals must be paid to comply with an environmental law," said Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, the committee's top Democrat.
"What's next? Paying citizens to wear seat belts? ... This bill will not improve species' ability to recover," he said.
A White House statement on Thursday supported the bill. But it noted that payments to private property owners could have a "significant" impact on the budget.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that those payments would run less than $20 million a year. The bill's opponents predicted a much higher total.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says there are 1,268 threatened and endangered plants and animals in the United States. About a dozen have gone off the list over the years after they were determined to have recovered; nine have become extinct.
Just this week, a toad that environmentalists say is being killed off by an invasive fungus that may have originated in Africa is no longer a candidate for protection under the act, the agency said. It said the boreal toad is a subspecies of a toad whose habitat ranges from Alaska to New Mexico.
Pombo's bill would:
–Eliminate critical habitat. That is area now required to be designated when a species is listed and is protected from adverse actions by federal agencies. Instead, "recovery plans" for species, including designation of habitat, would have to be developed within two years. The recovery plans would not have regulatory force and the habitat would not be protected from federal actions.
–Specify that landowners with development plans are due answers from the interior secretary within 180 days, with a 180-day extension possible, about whether the development would harm protected species. If the government fails to respond in time, the development could go forward. If the government blocks the development, the landowner would be paid the fair market value of the proposed development.
–Give the interior secretary the job of determining what constitutes appropriate scientific data for decision-making under the law.
An alternative from a group of Democrats and moderate Republicans would have strengthened the recovery plans, eliminated the payments to landowners for blocked developments and created a scientific advisory board to assist the interior secretary. The proposal failed by a 216-206 vote.
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On the Net: Endangered Species Act: www.fws.gov/endangered/esa.html
I just cross-linked the threads.
Thanks!
I ahte to say this, but I think that it has little chance in the Senate.
Good point.
We still aren't drilling in ANWR, huh?
At what point do we finally hit the "Emergency" level and get off our butts and do what needs to be done?
When we are shivering in the dark, our tractors sitting idle in fields due to fuel shortages?
This is what the 'Rats have been hoping for. For them to regain power, they pray for BAD things to happen to the US and you can bet your last nickel that they will oppose any and all measures to relieve the current high prices of energy so that it will hurt the economy.
bttt
This simple common-sense assertion is a sight to behold in a Congress infamous for irresponsible thinking and ridiculous reasoning.
The Democrat with a stupid statement about seat belts that isn't worth repeating just does not get it. He think he has the power and moral authority to arbitrarily dictate my behavior, especially in regards to my property. Of course you have to compensate me for preventing me from the use of my property, you imbecile! He is an ugly and evil person.
I doubt that this is large handouts in disguise to property owners. The monetary compensation is the reasonable result of emminent domain protection. It provides a significant disincentive to the government for barring me from the use of my land.
This is an attractive model for zoning law reforms.
And never give one penny to an "environmentalist charity".
bttt
To: National Desk
Contact: Tom Randall of Save Our Species Alliance, 773-857-5086 or trandall@winningreen.com
GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With Democrats contributing 36 "yes" votes, the U.S. House passed the first substantive improvements in the Endangered Species Act since it first became law 31 years ago.
The measure, the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (TESRA) was the culmination of an effort, led by Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), and Dennis Cardoza (D- CA) to improve the recovery rate of endangered and threatened species while making the process fairer for landowners.
"During the debate, the entire House of Representatives seemed to agree the ESA is in need of updates and improvements," Pombo said. It's incredible how far we have come.
"What surprised me most today," Pombo added, "was the strong ideological differences about whether or not homeowners should be compensated when their property is taken, as the fifth amendment of the Constitution requires. Upholding this right and partnering with the landowner is the only way we are going to improve the ESA's failing result for recovery. This legislation does just that."
Pombo noted that during the life of the 31-year-old Act just 10 of approximately 1300species listed as threatened or endangered have recovered sufficiently to be de-listed.
Major improvements made by TESRA include mandatory requirements for science-based recovery plans when a species is listed as threatened or endangered. It also provides for incentives for voluntary conservation efforts by private property owners and compensation for value lost from restrictions on land use. Some criticized compensating landowners as being too costly but the Congressional Budget Office predicted those costs would be quite modest.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
ooops forgot the list...
A re-write is overdue. Let's hope it's a good one.
Some news stories on abuses by environemnetalists:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/environment.htm
'Ranchers revenge' and the jumping mouse one (it didn't exist!) are good.
Was it Siskiyou county where the lady went to jail for feeding deer or some critter?
We shall see . . . this is the same gang that couldn't even muster the courage to take PBS off the taxpayer tit, much less the Sierra Club.
It was the definition of "take" that exceeded both our treaty obligations and the Congress' legitimate Constitutional authority, all protestations of the SCOTUS to the contrary.
Senate won't even look at it until next year and this version doesn't have a prayer.
Amazingly, Democrats actually approved eliminating critical habitat in another House version.
We paid good money for Alaska. The least we should do is get our moneys worth.
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