Senator Paul Introduces S.2122:

Defense of Environment and Property Act

Washington, D.C. – Senator Rand Paul recently introduced the Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012 to bring common sense back to federal water policy.  Thousands of property owners across America face aggressive action from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, with no legal means to fight back.  Together, the EPA and the Army Corps have become rogue agencies, threatening the Constitutional rights of landowners to do what they please with their own property.

“Environmental protection must be balanced with the fundamental American right to private property.  I have spoken with a number of victims of the government’s assault on private property, and it is time to rein in the out-of-control government agencies that infringe on these Americans’ rights,” Sen. Paul said.  “It is time to bring common sense to federal water policy, and I do so on behalf of the thousands of property owners across the country who have been met with aggression from the EPA and Army Corps for wetlands issues.”

Background:

The Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012 will do the following:

• Redefine “navigable waters” to explicitly clarify that waters must actually be navigable in fact, or “permanent standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water that form geographical features commonly known as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes that are connected to waters that are navigable-in-fact.”
• Excludes ephemeral or intermittent streams – the streams that sometimes form when rain falls- from federal jurisdiction.
• Restrains the EPA and the Army Corps from regulating or “interpreting” the definition of a navigable water without Congressional authorization.
• Protects the rights of states to have primary authority over the land and water within their borders.
• Prohibits federal agents from entering private property without the express consent of the landowner.
• Requires the government to pay double the value of the land to any landowner whose property value is diminished by a wetlands designation.

HR 1505,

A Bill Nearly Everyone Can Hate

HR 1505 The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Bob Bishop, R-UT as a way to reduce illegal immigration.  On the surface, it makes sense.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hampered in stopping illegals because they must file a Memorandum of Understanding with land management agencies before maintaining roads or installing surveillance systems, a process that can take months or even be rejected.

To remove these barriers, the bill grants DHS  "immediate access to any public land managed by the Federal government..."   and waives 36 environmental and other laws in favor of DHS activities on Federal, State and private lands within 100 miles of US borders and coastlines.  The area would encompass 10 whole states including Florida and Hawaii.

Environmentalists complain the bill guts environmental laws and even gives DHS rights over private citizens' property.   (The private property argument seems disingenuous given these same groups promote Smart Growth and sustainable development, both programs which give Federal and local agencies authority over private property.)

Conservatives argue this bill will turn vast areas of the US into a martial state with few checks on government power.  This map shows the extent of the DHS proposed control.

Proponent Rep. Raul Labrador, R-ID counters, "All we are trying to do is protect our nation, protect the people of the United States."

A committee report was issued on HR 1505 on October 5, 2011.  The next step is a to schedule a House vote.