Posted on 03/19/2007 6:51:24 PM PDT by pissant
Environmentalists and other opponents of the Pentagon's plans to roll back major environmental laws were dealt a serious blow last week when the House of Representatives passed the 2004 Defense Authorization Act.
After months in a congressional conference committee, the final version of the bill includes important changes to the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act that favor military training over environmental conservation.
If approved by the Senate and signed by President Bush, the law would have an immediate and lasting effect on Camp Pendleton and other bases where endangered species have settled and sometimes retreated to survive the rampant development and pollution in the surrounding civilian communities.
"Everyone's kind of in shock right now," said Nick Guroff, California Representative for the National Environmental Trust. "They're not thinking of the repercussions of their actions. We're going to see the effects of this down the road in lost habitat and loss of important species."
The bill is expected to move to a full Senate vote by Monday, according to Rep. Duncan Hunter, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee who championed the changes to environmental laws contained in the bill.
Camp Pendleton became the battleground for the bill as the Pentagon used restrictions placed on training there as examples to make its case.
Expected by some to be elated with the passage of the bill in the House, Camp Pendleton officials were mum.
"It would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time," said 1st Lt. Sarah Kansteiner. "If they say 'these are the new rules,' then we'd say aye, aye sir,' and carry out the job."
The bill would amend the Endangered Species Act so that environmental and other citizens groups cannot sue the military for destroying habitat critical to endangered and threatened species. It would eliminate areas designated "critical habitat" by the Department of Fish and Wildlife in favor of closely monitored conservation plans developed by the military.
It also would give the military more leeway to disturb or harm marine life, and it would block environmentalists from suing to halt the military exercises and activities that cause the disturbances.
Environmentalists say the bill would shield the military from penalty if it breaks the rules and amounts to a system where the Pentagon only has to say "trust us."
Not so, says Hunter, who said environmental groups go overboard trying to protect endangered rodents and songbirds.
Hunter calls the environmental portion of the bill the "Freedom to Train Act," and said it strikes a reasonable balance between nature and national security.
"We went at this with the viewpoint that the most important endangered creature is the 19-year-old Marine rifleman," he said Friday in a telephone interview.
"Now we can say OK ---- we're going to have these 100 acres for a rifle range, and these other hundred acres for habitat," he said. "Now, once we put that into effect, these groups can't then come in to sue to close the rifle range."
He said the changes make military training grounds "lawsuit-proof."
The Pentagon lost out on its bid for exemptions to other environmental regulations, including the Clean Air Act and the Superfund toxic waste laws.
The House bill passed Friday also would require the Defense Department to study how its training affects drinking water and quantify how growth and activities in civilian communities around bases affects military readiness.
The bill was the more radical of the two versions that were considered by Congress.
A softer Senate version of the legislation would have dropped the changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act and would have exempted the military from critical habitat designations only in cases where the Interior Department approved the exemptions and only if the military's own conservation plans were fully funded and complied with Fish and Wildlife Service standards.
Environmentalists lobbied hard to persuade Congress to adopt the Senate version.
"We had something that was very workable ---- something agreeable to both sides," Guroff said Friday. "Now we've got something a lot worse ---- something that is very much part of a right wing agenda."
Leading up to Friday's vote, some San Diego-area Democrats made an eleventh-hour plea for Hunter to soften his stance.
Reps. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, and Susan Davis, D-San Diego, wrote Hunter Wednesday saying the House bill "provides exemptions to laws even where military readiness is unaffected," and that some of the military's basic arguments for exemptions, especially regarding Camp Pendleton, were "grounded in misleading and inaccurate information."
State Sen. Dede Alpert, D-Coronado, San Diego City Council members Donna Frye and Toni Atkins, as well as Del Mar Councilman Henry Abarbanel and Imperial Beach Councilwoman Patricia McCoy also signed the letter.
Neither Davis nor Filner was available for comment Friday.
"We went at this with the viewpoint that the most important endangered creature is the 19-year-old Marine rifleman,"....
**
Amen, Mr. Hunter!
It's about time somebody stood up to the EnvironMENTALists.
They won't let us dig in our oil-rich country, and the endangered species law went into effect in 1973, the same year as Roe.
>...the guy kinda reminds me of Bob Dole (ie.war hero....)without Bob's charisma and sense of humor.<
There is no comparison between the two men. Bob Dole was, in my book, a total bore. Duncan Hunter. rather than trading on wartime experiences, concentrates on issues important to all Americans with the strength, vision, determination and good sense seldom found in one person. You don't have to be a standup comic to have charisma (the above qualities are very attractive to me), though he certainly is not lacking in that department either.
Hunter is hilarious sometimes even when he is serious.
Every politician does what is best for the people who vote for him.
Every one of them. Governors, Mayors, Senators and Congressmen. That's politics.
Now, who do when was the last time a new President was elected in the middle of a war?
Who do you want to be the person to step into that role?
I know who I want. A combat tested, Airborne Ranger.
Somebody who has a vested interest in the outcome. Like a son in combat.
A man who says what he means, means what he says and is smart enough to convey his position in unmistakable terms.
DUNCAN HUNTER!
That quote is absolutely incredible. Great post!
I bet arguing with your dad as a kid was not a fruitful experience. LOL
Hunter calls the environmental portion of the bill the "Freedom to Train Act," and said it strikes a reasonable balance between nature and national security.
"We went at this with the viewpoint that the most important endangered creature is the 19-year-old Marine rifleman,"
***Excellent quote. Bookmark.
Hunter for president bump!
Great job letting people know what Duncan Hunter is like. Get to know the candidates people! There is no one better.
Charisma transplant? No thank you. I don't like pretty boys. It's nice to have a manly man whom shows he clearly has a military background. Hunter knows what to say and says it well. The other turkeys the GOP offers up cannot say the same!
It's quite easy when calling attention to the absurdity of liberals and their policies. Not many Republicans do that.
Your Dad has the best quotes! Simple and right to the point with a great wit.
It seems every election year, some liberal politician dons an NRA cap and grabs a shotgun for a hunting photo-op, as if that means they support our right as Americans to keep and bear arms. I, myself, thoroughly enjoy hunting, having just recently spent a great weekend hunting elk in Arizona. But, the second amendment is not about hunting. It is about the right of you and me to be secure in our homes. We must vigorously defend against all attempts to chip away at the Second Amendment. You know as well as I do that there is one thing criminals prefer over any other: unarmed victims.
Yes, he makes a mark. Just what the GOP needs for a candidate. No one says it better.
I'd leave the lawsuit provision in, but make it much harder for people to acquire standing to sue. Apart from that, the house bill is fine with me.
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