Posted on 01/31/2017 4:39:39 PM PST by Olog-hai
A House Republican is working on legislation that if passed would completely abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Freshman Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) outlined his plan in a letter to colleagues obtain by The Hill and first reported by The Huffington Post.
Today, the American people are drowning in rules and regulations promulgated by unelected bureaucrats; and the Environmental Protection Agency has become an extraordinary offender, Gaetz wrote in the letter soliciting support from lawmakers.
Our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans, he continued. It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Once the EPA is abolished, the economy (especially the oil and gas industry) will take off like gangbusters. We can finally install the refineries that this country needs.
I can see a legitimate role for some limited type of federal laws and enforcement authority with regard to hazardous materials and substances.
We don’t want to be like China. We can’t have factories spilling SO2 into the atmosphere, or polluting our waters.
Of course, the EPA is so out of control and over the top that it needs to be gutted. But if it’s shut down, we will need to have some sort of agency or authority to handle interstate environmental issues, and also to protect interstate and coastal waters.
abolish foreign ownership.
At least 1/2 of all the govt. agencies could be abolished or consolidated with no harm done to the nations well being.
Can I get an AMEN!
We need to keep the EPA for one reason and one reason only...
Manage the superfund to clean up toxic sites...
Nothing else...
You really trust the executive branch to do that? Never mind an executive agency created by executive order?
The reason why I made that suggestion is most toxic sites could bankrupt many states.
That’d be thanks to lawfare, I suspect.
The Case for Ending the EPA
http://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/6065-the-case-for-ending-the-epa
EPA: Time to Abolish, Not Merely Restrict
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/19745-epa-time-to-abolish-not-merely-restrict
EPA v. USA
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/energy/item/17170-epa-v-usa
Suppose you turn this over to the states. I used to live in Charlotte, which draws it water from the Catawba river and returns it to the Catawba after treatment a few miles above the state line with South Carolina where several communities downstream draw there drinking water. In the interests of saving money, the city requests that the state agency not require them to treat the water before returning it tout the river. The state agency allows it knowing that it will only affect a few miles of river in North Carolina. What remedy would cities downstream in South Carolina have other than more expensive treatment options?
There is a legitimate place in government for the EPA. If it returns to its original mission and stays within the bounds of law. I don’t want a return to massive smog and toxic waste being dumped in our waterways. Yeah I know the EPA did that in Colorado. I think care for the environment is important and can be done in such a way that it is not in opposition to Conservative value.
What was its “original mission” if not to accrue more powers for the executive branch? I have looked at its so-called “original mission” and there is nothing legitimate in there, never mind constitutional.
What exactly has the executive-branch EPA done to solve problems such as in your hypothetical scenario?
>>>What exactly has the executive-branch EPA done to solve problems such as in your hypothetical scenario?
They put in place water quality regulations requiring the city to treat the water before it goes back into the river. A state agency may not be so inclined if it’s not their problem.
I notice that you didn’t cite these regulations, which are legislation that bypasses Congress. It is Congress’ job to regulate interstate commerce (if that is what you are referring to) and not the executive branch; read Article 1, Section 8.
Thanks for your dim view of states’ rights and your equally dim view of constitutional separation of powers.
Of course, the EPA is so out of control and over the top that it needs to be gutted. But if its shut down, we will need to have some sort of agency or authority to handle interstate environmental issues, and also to protect interstate and coastal waters.
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How were these issues regulated before the creation of the EPA?
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