EPA Never Equipped for WOTUS Management
Stephen Heins, August 27, 2019
After the Colorado toxic spill, there was a hush over the climate industry/major media about the EPA’s “1 million-gallon toxic mine spill” on August 5 (which was later changed to 3 million gallons by the EPA.) In fact, the EPA did not give the States of Colorado and New Mexico any warning for the 24 hours. EPA regional director Shaun McGrath was quoted as saying, “some of our early comments may have sounded cavalier about the public-health concern and the concern for the wildlife.”
Even after a second toxic spill in October, no one at the EPA was ever disciplined or prosecuted. In the end, the EPA gave out small compensation to the Native American tribes, and none to local tourism and ranching. One can only imagine the financial penalties if a private company had caused the spill.
In the federal Flint, MI water investigation, the report finds that “the State of Michigan and EPA equally at fault.” Furthermore, there is evidence that the local EPA knew about the Flint lead in the water problems for over 9 months and you as Director knew about the Flint problem at least 4 months before it became a disaster.
According to a New York Times article, the “E.P.A. broke law with social media push for WOTUS, auditors found.” The EPA used Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and even a more innovative tool known as Thunderclap. In total, their campaign reached 1.8 million people. The other questionable PR efforts included an asthma ad campaign and Mercury and Air Toxic (MATS) PR campaign.
Ultimately, why should we ever trust a highly politicized federal agency like EPA to regulate the waters or energy of America?
………………