“Cool, cool water”

From the New York Times – “Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators.”

And, of course, “As a result, some businesses are declaring that the law no longer applies to them. And pollution rates are rising.”

As an example – “Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, N.M., for instance, recently informed E.P.A. officials that it no longer considered itself subject to the act. It dumps wastewater — containing bacteria and human sewage — into a lake on the base.” (NYT)

Oh, ain’t it awful. Some bastards are knowingly, willingly dumping noxious pollution into a waterway. What shall we do?

Well, for starters, why not revert to taking matters into our own hands, as per the time-tested Common Law? Unless exempted by State statute, the abatement of a nuisance remains one of the fundamental tools in every Joe’s bag of rights. And, last I checked, trespassing is still taboo in most states; i.e., nobody can dump their shit on your land without your consent.

Yes, the Supremes may have shifted the burden to us ordinary citizens out yonder on the fruited plains. So what? It’s been widely touted that our beloved EPA has long been, shall we say, lax in enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Ditto many of our upstanding State environmental agencies. So why not go after polluters the old fashioned way? And that means in State court, where judges are often elected and a tad more sensitive to the power of the ballot.

In some ways, the Supremes may have done the nation a favor by reminding us that we can’t rely on our government to take care of us. All environmental issues are local. Let the defending begin….

posted by Mudd