Posted on 01/13/2017 3:23:45 PM PST by Olog-hai
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.
The EPA said the claims could be refiled in federal court, or Congress could authorize payments.
But attorneys for the EPA and the Justice Department concluded the EPA is barred from paying the claims because of sovereign immunity, which prohibits most lawsuits against the government. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Well, what I had in mind was to liquify the EPA. They’ll be neutralized then. Kind of like adding alkaline to acid.
What if Exxon had done this?
BTW - There is a credible story that this was not an accident.
convenient isn’t it...the govt has all this power and they still aren’t held to any responsibility.
What you said.
L
they waived that by participating in the suit.
Congress can always sign a law redirecting their budget.
The fact they waited this long is the height of arrogance for an ADMINISTRATIVE agency.
environmental spills are non dischargable in bankruptcy I believe.
I would say prison sentences for EPA senior leadership, since this was intentional.
I’m not so sure that ‘sovereign immunity’ thing carries any water in this instance. That immunity, so I’ve been told by an lawyer from the FBI, comes if certain criteria are met:
Did the agent have a lawful right to be there?
Did the agent have a lawful right to be doing what they were doing?
Was the agent negligent in the discharge of their duties?
If the answer isn’t....Yes - Yes - No...then it’s off to court for the agent. I’m quite sure that ‘agency’ can replace ‘agent’ at any time. Toss that in with the fact that the incident, at least to what I read, was somewhat intentional and I think the immunity thing goes out the window. Saddest part is, the taxpayer is left paying the bill, no matter how you slice it. I would have no issues with being among that taxpayer group if, the money was taken from the EPAs budget as it was being dismantled and gotten rid of...AND...if some people went to prison(for a long time) over the incident, specifically McCarthy.
The EPA, under the 0bama regime causes a toxic spill that pollutes an entire river basin, causing loss of wildlife, jobs, and revenue to businesses would be a felony to anyone else who did it...
Drain the swamp.
5.56mm
Of course not! The underlings who made the mistake are not the ones ultimately responsible for paying for the mistake.
That responsibility belongs to the boss at the very top of the organization.
Q: And who is the boss of the government? Who is it they serve?
A: The taxpayers!
Yes, "the buck stops" at the taxpayers' door. They are the ones who must pay for the damages.
See? Isn't Liberal Logic simple?
Just liquidate 'em and be done with it.
I meant to say, if the answer’s are anything BUT...
Yes
Yes
No
then it’s off to court. If they were negligent then they have to pay. FBI payed the Weavers for what the FBI sniper did and was able to answer, Yes, to 2/3.
no, that is not what was said. The EPA said you did it wrong. Two proper avenues to proceed were then suggested.
It seems to me that Federal court would provide the same answer. Congress has always been a way to remedy damages to citizens by the government.
The EPA is a rogue agency that has lived long beyond its usefulness. The Marxist liberals are now using it as a sledge hammer against our constitutional rights to conduct business, especially any type of heavy industry, ie, manufacturing, mining, drilling, logging, even agriculture. Their obvious goal is to cause the USA to fail economically so they can usher in some form of communism. Our liberty-oriented founders would be shooting by now.
Can’t meaning won’t.
Naturally, that's the EPA's mission.
More Liberal Logic.
I don't remember - was the FBI forced to pay out of their annual budget? Or did it come from somewhere else?
OK, kind of like the way Judge Roy Bean would sentence a guy to hanging after he’s shot. I like it. Dead. Dead dead.
OK then.
Let’s charge the perpetrators in criminal court for criminal negligence.
Just to note: The final word is not with the EPA, as Congress has long specified a number of means for settling such torts against the Federal government.
The EPA is correct in that they generally have sovereign immunity, but they are being misleading if they claim Congress hasn’t waived most agency immunity in such cases.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.