Wants balance and common sense...

9/18/2013

The EPA - fair??

WE just received a PDF copy of a passionate letter that county councilwoman Kathy Kershner dashed out on September 13th to the DOJ and EPA in Washington D.C. pleading for the fair-handed and balanced treatment of Rader Farms here in Whatcom County.

If the Bellingham Herald's account below is correct, the scale of fines related to the federal government's case for blueberry farming this 10-acre parcel seem unbelievably mean-spirited and way out of proportion:

"Under the new lawsuit, filed Aug. 29, EPA could seek several penalties, including an order to make Rader and Uptrail Group restore the site to its pre-fill condition at their own cost. The lawsuit also could seek civil fines of up to $32,500 per day for each day the wetland has been clear - or more than $86 million as of the time the case was filed."

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/09/13/3200551/lynden-blueberry-farm-faces-another.html#storylink=cpy

That's outrageous, and in some ways this reminds us of the Idaho Sackett Case that the Pacific Legal Foundation took to the Supreme Court (and won) and also the Koontz Case. The Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected disproportionate EPA actions.

Without analyzing the ins and outs of the case or the letter, WE definitely admire Kershner's grit and willingness to stand up and fight for someone like this.

5 Comments

Oscar Graham

9/18/2013 04:12:51 am

Hello: Kathy Kershner's letter is unfounded. As an official of Whatcom County and a representative of the County's critical areas ordinance, she should understand that EPA's case stems from a long history of the Raders violation of this ordinance. Raders unsuccessfully appealed the County's conclusion that the Raders had illegally cleared and graded 10 acres of high quality wetlands adjacent to Pangborn Lake. Further, she does not understand the impacts of clearing and grading on water quality. Most of the streams in the lowlands of Whatcom County do not meet water quality standards due to illegal activities such as these. Such impacts require millions of dollars in Whatcom County to clean up. I am concerned because she obviously is either unaware of the basis of the Critical Areas Ordinance, or she is knowingly suggesting that the regulations be applied in a subjective evasive manner. Either way, I question her competancy to be a member of the County Council, let alone Chairwoman of the Council.

Karl Uppiano link

9/19/2013 06:06:37 am

They "... illegally cleared and graded 10 acres ..."? Was it their property? Who made it illegal? The EPA? The EPA is not a legislative body. Their "authority" over us was granted by a regime that I was too young even to vote for when the EPA was created.

The EPA does not have the consent of the governed. It is an unaccountable bureaucracy that creates regulations having the force of law, with the notion that they can fine any citizen who dares to violate their autocratic edicts.

Let's put the representation back into representative government, and dismantle overbearing bureaucracies like the EPA. It must be possible to protect our natural resources without forfeiting our natural rights.

David Onkels

9/19/2013 11:35:53 am

Mr. Graham,
You wrote, "As an official of Whatcom County and a representative of the County's critical areas ordinance, she should understand that EPA's case stems from a long history of the Raders [sic] violation of this ordinance."

That is not so. The EPA has no authority to enforce Whatcom County ordinances.

The EPA suit is based on assertions of law and fact that I think are defective, especially concerning the issue of nexus and of the status of ditches in the vicinity as waters of the United States.

This filing brings discovery into the present, and the EPA might well regret repeating the assertion of the presence of wetlands, when current BAS might well find that no "wetlands" exist or ever could have existed.

If you're looking for a clue to the basis of my argument, look at the played-out gravel pits across the road. They are fifteen or twenty feet deep and dry in the bottom. They are a pretty clear clue about the depth of the water table in the vicinity.

The Raders improved the property significantly, and Whatcom County's persecution of them was, in my opinion, abusive.

Joan Dow

9/18/2013 07:43:46 am

Dear Whatcom Excavator:

Thank you so much for keeping cases of this type front and center, so we are constantly reminded of what our public servants are up to.

Greg Brown

9/19/2013 01:35:56 pm

Thank you Karl and Dave for your knowledge and willingness to respond to those who are continually trying to enslave us to mass regulation and bureaucracy!

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Wants balance and common sense...

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