Protecting Ourselves from Environmental Protection
The United States Constitution limits the authority of the federal government to those items that are enumerated in the Constitution, and says that all other authority “not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution).
An example of an unconstitutional authority is the Environmental Protection Agency. This agency doesn’t seem to be interested in protecting the environment nor is the agency beneficial to individual states and citizens.
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In Arizona, for instance, years of EPA regulations have our forests unhealthy, extremely dense, and ripe for uncontrollable fire conditions. These regulations have negatively impacted Arizona’s logging industry and small business communities. Our rural towns and counties are losing jobs and suffering economic loss as the EPA non-elected bureaucrat continues to dictate unattainable regulations from their taxpayer-funded office in Washington DC. Arizona citizens most affected by these regulations must comply or suffer devastating litigation and punishment. In many cases, even if our citizens want to comply they are faced with costly and unending litigation from rabid environmentalist groups.
My wife and I recently returned from a 3-day trip in eastern Arizona and listened to the concerns of those affected by these EPA rules. We heard small business owners, logging industry personnel, and forest experts on why overbearing regulations must be lifted. Logging businesses in small communities employ on average 20-25 people and have been in operation for generations. Because of regulation these businesses cannot get enough supply to operate efficiently. Some of them have closed their doors or operate day to day. Residents in these communities want to step forward and manage their own livelihood. They know how to manage their land and do not want Washington telling them what they can or cannot do. Both my wife and I left shaking our heads in disgust at the complete and utter usurpation of power by the unconstitutional, regulatory agency known as the EPA.
To make matters worse, the EPA has launched a new power grab! The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers want to redefine “waters of the United States” to include water on your personal property. The new definitions could bring EPA enforcement to your doorstep if the property you own has a ditch or depression with water in it. Even a small pond or puddle may put you at odds with this unelected and unconstitutional body. To gain the additional authority, all the EPA has to do is write a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget and get it approved. The “waters act” was submitted by the EPA for approval in early April and to my knowledge Congress has not tried to stop it. This agency is out of control and must be reined in. Read the article for yourself at the Daily Signal.
The federal government has become so overreaching that the Constitution is no longer valid and is being ignored on a consistent basis. It’s time for us to stop the insanity of overreaching, unelected Washington bureaucrats. We must do what we can to make some noise and remove the overreaching power of the Environmental Protection Agency. It is time to get back to the Constitution and turn our country around!
