Posted on 04/15/2020 5:42:16 AM PDT by BeauBo
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf announced Tuesday that he will again waive dozens of laws in order to expedite wall construction and address an “acute and immediate need” to block unlawful border crossings.
Tuesday's order focuses on Starr County, Texas, communities including Salineno, Escobares and Rio Grande City. The waived laws include the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act and the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act.
“In order to ensure the expeditious construction of the barriers and roads in the project areas, I have determined that it is necessary that I exercise the authority that is vested in me,” Wolf said in the notice, which is scheduled to be published on April 15.
These waivers issued for the Rio Grande Valley sector follow several similar waivers in other geographic areas to speed construction of the barrier, going back to 2018, and as recent as March 16.
(Excerpt) Read more at law360.com ...
The contracts have already been awarded, and these waivers will enable final designs to be approved (as long as they are technically sound) without the red tape holding them up.
Usually, ground breaking occurs a couple of months later. Sometimes in just weeks (like some of the DoD contracts), but sometimes many, many months (as happened before in the Rio Grande Valley, due to land acquisition delays).
Everything is now complete for the contractor to start work, except perhaps for the land acquisition. So these waivers are a good sign, but no guarantee, that work will get underway there soon.
This area (West of McAllen) is mostly higher ground (not flood plain), which does not require the slow to build Levee Wall System. Once they get going, they will be able to build pretty quickly.
I suspect many Freepers would appreciate getting pinged on border control issues. If you ever set up a ping list, please add me to it.
I used to argue that the wall would be built from El Paso to San Diego, but not along the Rio Grande.
I clearly was wrong.
So much for the Cartel-controlled locals being able to hold up the wall construction.
Because that is what you do.
Seems the dems and their media stooges have thrown in the towel on stopping the wall. Its a non issue to them these days.
This is great news.
I hope they will relentlessly push ahead.
BUILD BABY BUILD!!!!
Why not waive prescriptive laws affecting HCQ and Zinc and make them available over the counter so people can purchase them and stop the Virus in its tracks. This is the only way it would be controlled or people will have to wait years for Big Pharma to make a vaccine and kill millions by following the law to make millions in profits.
Build the wall!
Make it tall.
Don’t let them stall.
Raise it all!
Because that is not a power allowed the executive. The only reason why they can be waived here is because the 06 law and others that are being used to construct the wall, which were passed but not funded by Congress at the time, specifically allows the Executive branch to waive environmental law and regs to build it.
Also, there is a shortage of hydroxychloroquine. Even waiving regs won’t help that.
“I used to argue that the wall would be built from El Paso to San Diego, but not along the Rio Grande.”
There are many strong reasons for that.
- Private land ownership along the river. Over 1,000 separate private owners need to be settled with - mainly with complex issues, such as poorly documented title, shared among many relatives, dating back to Spanish land grants in many cases.
-The Roosevelt Reservation along the border clears the path from El Paso to San Diego, but does not include the Rio Grande.
- The river shifts is banks.
- Flooding and hurricanes challenge designs, driving costs way up.
- Binding International Treaty governs construction along the banks, or which could impact floodwaters.
- The area is a Democratic Party stronghold, so local politicians and many private citizens (including many landowners) seek to actively obstruct.
- Mexican Cartels run huge operations through the border in that area (currently the largest gateway for illegal traffic), and corrupt the local Governments.
For so many reasons, the Rio Grande Valley is the main battle in the war to secure the border. If President Trump can get that done, most everything else is easier, cheaper and faster.
It now looks like it is going to get done. The money is on contract, the legal objections have been overcome, and the process of settling with landowners (including condemnation under eminent domain for the obstinate minority) is underway.
It is an epic achievement.
I have argued since the nineteen seventies that we need guarded walls along both borders, and a comprehensive network of Coastguard facilities along the coasts.
I simply didn’t see how it could be done.
Its funny. Trump is making it happen.
Because unmonitored use could be dangerous.
Some people have severe side effects to Hydroxychloroquine.
I have never taken the azithromycin but it’s an antibiotic so it’s probably toxic to some people.
“I simply didn’t see how it could be done.
Its funny. Trump is making it happen.”
He is uniquely qualified - a world class real estate developer, with a particular personal history of eminent domain legal cases, who is arguably the world’s most powerful politician and a media star. Personally, he is incredibly driven,, and almost immune from discouragement.
There is no one else quite like him.
Most people don’t realize what skills the corona challenge required, issuing contracts and jawboning suppliers. A long time construction guy has those skills. Your average politician does not.
“Because that is not a power allowed the executive.“
Dear friend please explain to me why there are so many over the counter medications that used to be prescription? It happens all the time. Advil used to be by prescription only as well.
That’s correct, but there’s a certain level of safety implied by that. Some other countries have a bit lower standards and HCQ is a legal OTC med there, but while HCQ is a fairly safe prescription there can be cardiac issues with taking it and the correct dosage is by body weight IIRC. As far as I know, no OTC med in the US has ever been allowed to be sold with instructions to take a certain amount by body weight. You can probably guess why.
Mind, I do think we should be using HCQ and yesterday, but if we make it OTC there’s going to be a ton of people misusing it, dying and then the press will have all the fodder it needs to get it banned.
Let me throw your argument that HCQ has cardiac issues. If you take too much Tylenol while you’re drinking you destroy your liver yet Tylenol is still over the counter. High standards my ass.
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