Posted on 01/22/2018 6:24:58 PM PST by markomalley
The Trump administration is waiving more than 30 environmental rules to accelerate the construction of President Trump's proposed border wall in New Mexico, forcing environmental groups to consider another round of lawsuits.
The Department of Homeland Security published a notice Monday that said the waiver was necessary to ensure the "expeditious construction of barriers" near the Santa Teresa Land Port of Entry.
"The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border of the United States," according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The waiver included rules and requirements under several top federal environmental rules, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Clean Air Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Noise Control Act.
The waiver would allow the administration to begin replacing vehicle barriers with bollard walls along a 20-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border west of El Paso, Texas, at the New Mexico land border port.
"The United States Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector is an area of high illegal entry," according to the Department of Homeland Security's notice, stating the need for the waiver. "The El Paso Sector therefore remains an area of high illegal entry for which there is an immediate need to construct border barriers and roads."
The Center for Biological Diversity, the first group to sue the Trump administration over the wall last year, said Monday that it is considering a new lawsuit to address this latest waiver.
“The Trump administration is stopping at nothing to ram through this destructive border wall,” said Brian Segee, a senior attorney for the group. “Trump’s divisive border wall is a humanitarian and environmental disaster, and it won’t do anything to stop illegal drug or human smuggling.”
The environmental group sued the administration last year for a previous waiver of conservation rules to build a portion on the wall near San Diego. A hearing on the case in the federal district court of San Diego occurs next month on Feb. 9. The group argued that the wall violates the endangered species law by cutting off species' migratory patterns and ignoring protected habitat.
"Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands, local businesses and international relations," the group said.
Trump should sic the IRS on them.
Obama did it!
He has promised a “clean” vote on just DACA in three weeks as long as they don’t agree on a deal before that.
No. The bill in the House is vastly different. The Senate bill will need to be voted on in the House - if it even reaches the floor and even so will not pass.
There will have to be another bill that passes both Houses and will be signed by DJT.
A good HISTORY course as a PREREQUISTE for any citizenship papers.
I hear that Rush has produced some purty good stuff, and I imagine that Hillsdale College has some REALLY good classes that can be RAPIDLY expanded; too!
After all; isn't this what we are ACTUALLY worried about; that the Dreamers, allowed to stay, will VOTE the wrong way in the future??
Defanging the liberal “reasons” why something that needs to be done can’t be done....MAGA!!!
You can’t can’t years of propaganda, affirmative-action preferences, years of experience on the government dole, significantly lower than the native average on education but higher on crime, a whole life that has been based on fraud and crime, about half of the DACA approvals themselves based on fraud, etc., etc., with a class or two.
You just can’t. They’ve already benefited from massive amounts of stolen goods and should go share some of what they have learned from the stolen goods with their more law-abiding countrymen in their home countries.
Let me fill you in. My wife works in identity theft. It is so rampant that the agencies cannot tackle even a fraction of it. That is the reality of it. The system is massively overwhelmed. Plus when thes guys get caught nothing happens to them so there is no real deterrent.
>>The Department of Homeland Security handles environment issues?<<
If so, that’s a good sign that we might finally see the shutdown of one of most oppressive agencies ever established in this country.
Your ignorance of the construction process is profound
>>Just think - somehow the colonies and the nation made it all the way from 1620 to 1970 without the EPA- 350 years.<<
By far the most oppressive agency ever established in America. Trump should close its doors IMMEDIATELY.
>>Ok fair question if you are behind. Catch up. McConnell traded the reopening of the government for a separate Daca vote. Daca is all we had to force negotiation to get our Wall , end to chain, lottery and merit based legal immigration. By removing that and giving them a clean DACA vote — WE LOST EVERYTHING!! All of it absolutely gone!~! Are you caught up now?<<
Myopic Mitch doesn’t control the HOR.
>>In other words, you can back off from the ledge, all is “not lost.”<<
Louie you have it exactly right. Well and truly said!
They’re just concerned that the wall will stop animals from migrating, but then that is precisely it’s purpose.
I see what you did there--clever.
IIRC, the WALL AND THE FUNDING FOR THE WALL were voted on & approved in 2006.
How come this has to start all over?
Doesn’t matter.
The Democrat MO is to run out the clock by late fourth quarter fouls.
Center for Biodiversity sounds like a Soros front group.
Raiderboy is a newbie troll. If Trump walked across the Potomac, he would be posting in a panic about how McConnell and Ryan are folding because Trump can’t swim.
It's the democrat (and rino). Rather than a straight up vote, let's stall for time with lawsuits, hearings, investigations, committees, filibusters, etc. until we regain power and can just shut it down ourselves.
Democrats. Gotta love 'em. Can't kill 'em.
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