Bush Declares Eco-Whistleblower Law Void for EPA Employees

[rodeodance]

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_41616.shtml

Bush Declares Eco-Whistleblower Law Void for EPA Employees
Stealth Repeal of Clean Water Act Protections by Invoking "Sovereign Immunity"

By: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Published: Sep 4, 2006 at 08:40


The Bush administration has declared itself immune from whistleblower protections for federal workers under the Clean Water Act, according to legal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result of an opinion issued by a unit within the Office of the Attorney General, federal workers will have little protection from official retaliation for reporting water pollution enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science or cleanup failures.

Citing an "unpublished opinion of the Attorney General's Office of Legal Counsel," the Secretary of Labor's Administrative Review Board has ruled federal employees may no longer pursue whistleblower claims under the Clean Water Act. The opinion invoked the ancient doctrine of sovereign immunity which is based on the old English legal maxim that "The King Can Do No Wrong." It is an absolute defense to any legal action unless the "sovereign" consents to be sued.

The opinion and the ruling reverse nearly two decades of precedent. Approximately 170,000 federal employees working within environmental agencies are affected by the loss of whistleblower rights.

"The Bush administration is engineering the stealth repeal of whistleblower protections," stated PEER General Counsel Richard Condit, who had won several of the earlier cases applying environmental whistleblower protections to federal specialists. "The use of an unpublished opinion to change official interpretations is a giant step backward to the days of the secret Star Chamber." PEER ultimately obtained a copy of the opinion under the Freedom of Information Act.

.....

[MaineDem]

1. WTF???

How the hell do they get away with this???

[DrunkenMaster]

3. they are getting away with it

because no one is stopping them.

[depakid]

62. Not the dems- nor the media

They've both rolled over on outrage after outrage at the EPA.

PEER has reported on a dozen or more on these- including direct pesticide testing on infants and children- and yet no action from the democrats, other than to approve AND congradulate Stephen L. Johnson (the man behind the scheme) to be the EPA Chairman.

And people wonder why the Green Party peels off voters....

[The Backlash Cometh]

33. WTF? WTF? and WTF????

This is a case when one WTF just won't do. If Bush decides that he wants to poison us all, he has the right to silence the people who might protect us from him?

[Ghost Dog]

54. Divine right of Kings and Emperors.

Get used to it???

[tbyg52]

64. No. But he's doing it anyway. And nobody's stopping him.

That's the problem. And in a way I (sorta) understand it. First, there's only so much you can do when you're not in power (so our people need to be *in* power). Second, keeping up with the outrages of this administration is like Whack-a-Mole. And I think that's part of their strategy, too.

[eccles12]

42. Why haven't the Dems demanded a press conference to scream about this?

They could at least use C-SPAN to attack this action by Bush. WTF are the Dems doing? There are so many issues that should sink the Republicans' ship and yet I don't hear or see the Dems using them. They just keep talking about the points that Rove wants them to talk about like Iraq war and war on terrorism when most Americans outside the beltway have to deal with issues like low wages, high gasoline prices, high food prices, littl or no health insurance, worker protections, civil rights, high cost of education, corporate crimes, consumer swindles, and traffic jams.

[rodeodance]

45. try to call into cspan tomorrow about this.

[Vincardog]

2. HAd enough? Vote Democratic in November and then IMPEACH all of them

[robertarctor]

4. L'etat c'est Jethro Mussolini

Jeebus. Gaia help us.

[Supersedeas]

61. Opey, you are not in Mayberry anymore.

[rodeodance]

5. "It is astonishing ....to now suddenly claim that it is above law"

umm... but they have done it with NSA and gitmo.



......These actions arose in the case of Sharyn Erickson, an EPA employee who had reported problems with agency contracts for toxic clean-ups. After conducting a hearing, an administrative law judge called EPA's conduct "reprehensible" and awarded Erickson $225,000 in punitive damages but the Labor Secretary overturned that ruling.

"It is astonishing for the Bush administration to now suddenly claim that it is above the law," said PEER Senior Counsel Paula Dinerstein, who is handling Erickson's appeal of the Labor Secretary's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit based in Atlanta. "Congress could end this debate by simply declaring that it intends that the whistleblower protections of these anti-pollution laws apply to the federal government."

Congress is now debating Clean Water Act clarifications in the wake of a confusing U.S. Supreme Court decision (Rapanos et ux., et al. v. United States) handed down this June that muddies the extent of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. Unless Congress also resolves the Clean Water Act sovereign immunity question, scores of federal employee whistleblower cases may be dismissed or languish in limbo while the issue is litigated.

Read the unpublished opinion of the Attorney General's Office of Legal Counsel.....at link

[rodeodance]

8. Our useless Congress could step in but I really have no hope of that

happening soon.

[Drum]

6. Uh-oh...the S word is not one to bring back now.

Intentionally or not, they're shooting themSELVES in the face this time. What is Gonzales thinking?

I surely hope that this sovereignty shit can and WILL be stopped.

:evilfrown:

[jpak]

7. Hmmm...he must be scared of something he's done

if he has to go to these lengths to shut people up...

[Double T]

9. We are living and being governed by a true fascist dictatorship......

while the dictator runs around the planet yelling 'YOU MUST BE A DEMOCRACY'. What a f--ing hypocrite!!!! These rethug A-holes are pulling out ALL THE STOPS for the coming elections. Time to 'fumigate' the WH and Congress to remove the political cockroaches.

[The Brethren]

36. yes, a true fascist dictator

parading around in Democratic clothing with our flag so tightly wrapped around himself he can't even reach his zipper.

"As a result of an opinion issued by a unit within the Office of the Attorney General, federal workers will have little protection from official retaliation for reporting water pollution enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science or cleanup failures."

OMG, how blatant can King George be??? I'm surprised that he and his admin. even bother with formalities....like laws. And we've already seen what he thinks of whistle blowers in the government. I feel bad for the federal employees who will try to speak up. They'll be stuffed and roasted in wine sauce for sport by our noble idiot. How can even bushie's strongest supporters not see what this action is doing? I'm stunned how blatant he has become to clearly put himself above the law and to become a dictator who will use our own laws to justify his actions. If there Americans out there who still support him after stunts like this, I wonder if they even know why our Declaration Of Indep. was created to begin with.

[sweetheart]

10. every day the nazi's tighten their noose

Pretty soon, we'll all have to wear collars.

[gratuitous]

11. There's a question for every Republic running for office

Do you agree with the Bush administration that is has the authority under the constitution to rewrite the laws Congress has passed and interpret those laws instead of the courts? That is, do you support the constitution or the Bush administration?

[brer cat]

12. Absolutely agree, but who will ask? n/t

[IChing]

13. Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich (Enabling Act)

"The opinion invoked the ancient doctrine of sovereign immunity which is based on the old English legal maxim that "The King Can Do No Wrong." It is an absolute defense to any legal action unless the "sovereign" consents to be sued. "

Check out Hitler's enabling act if you are not sure where we are at.

[fed-up]

14. "The King Can Do No Wrong."...... unpublished opinion wtf??? n/t

[rodeodance]

16. recall that our AG works for Bush, not the PEOPLE!

sarcasm!

[UpInArms]

34. "The King Can Do No Wrong" - there is no freakin' "kingdom" here

this is a democratic republic - no kings -

this is total and utter BULLSHIT!

:nuke:

[rodeodance]

15. Look, he is going against his own EPA recommendations:

..At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a more extreme position that absolutely no environmental laws protect its employees from reprisal. EPA's stance would place the provisions of all major federal environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, beyond the reach of federal employees seeking legal protection for good faith efforts to enforce or implement the anti-pollution provisions contained within those laws.

These actions arose in the case of Sharyn Erickson, an EPA employee who had reported problems with agency contracts for toxic clean-ups. After conducting a hearing, an administrative law judge called EPA's conduct "reprehensible" and awarded Erickson $225,000 in punitive damages but the Labor Secretary overturned that ruling.

"It is astonishing for the Bush administration to now suddenly claim that it is above the law," said PEER Senior Counsel Paula Dinerstein, who is handling Erickson's appeal of the Labor Secretary's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit based in Atlanta. "Congress could end this debate by simply declaring that it intends that the whistleblower protections of these anti-pollution laws apply to the federal government."

Congress is now debating Clean Water Act clarifications in the wake of a confusing U.S. Supreme Court decision (Rapanos et ux., et al. v. United States) handed down this June that muddies the extent of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. Unless Congress also resolves the Clean Water Act sovereign immunity question, scores of federal employee whistleblower cases may be dismissed or languish in limbo while the issue is litigated.

[silverweb]

17. Illegal and unconstitutional.

It HAS to be. A political appointee cannot simply reverse formal court rulings legally.

This must be challenged. This must be set right.

A campaign to force Congress to act on this must be instituted immediately.

Please call, write, and otherwise harrass your congresscritters to reverse this abomination!

[rodeodance]

19. I agree. Everyone must contact their Congresspeople NOW. PLEASE

We can not sit by and allow this to go on and just complain to ourselves.




.........It HAS to be. A political appointee cannot simply reverse formal court rulings legally.

This must be challenged. This must be set right.

A campaign to force Congress to act on this must be instituted immediately.

Please call, write, and otherwise harrass your congresscritters to reverse this abomination!

[IChing]

18. 'Rex non potest peccare " The king can do no wrong Shakespeare said.

LADY MACBETH. What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account.
Act 5, Scene 1.

LEAR. No, they cannot touch me for coining;
I am king himself.
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 6.

GONERIL. Say, if I do; the laws are mine, not thine;
Who shall arraign me for 't.
King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3.

<38> Lady Macbeth, Lear, and Goneril seem to refer to the ancient and fundamental principal of the English Constitution, that the king can do no wrong. Rex non potest peccare.—

[rodeodance]

21. so this is why Bush has been reading Shakespeare

[IChing]

25. I remembered something about Macbeth and had to google it

For MacBeth reminded me of this dictator we have.

[rodeodance]

47. you did good. Thanks much. I saved it.

[davekriss]

20. hahaha

OK, rodeodance, surely this is an Onion article. Fess up! No way in these modern times would a duly elected executive administration in the US of A invoke "the ancient doctrine of sovereign immunity" to reverse legislated law and court opinion. This sounds like a badly written Twilight Zone episode.




...uh, wait, wtf, this Regime was NOT "duly elected", it usurped power via the bloodless coup of December 12, 2000, and has consolidated its power by stealing elections ever since. It is capable of anything. Democracy is fast dying the death of a thousand cuts!!

[rodeodance]

23. yeps, it almost

does qualify for an onion article--it is so surreal. just when i think I can not be appalled by what the WH, then along comes this!

[brentspeak]

22. I didn't know the Executive Branch was also the Judicial Branch

Holy cow, this is the most brazenly corrupt administration in history.

[rodeodance]

24. see this thread also.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2047460&mesg_id=2047460

[The Brethren]

39. ditto!

"brazenly corrupt" being the keys words. How and when will it stop....or will it stop? 2008 can't come soon enough, but logic tells me, why should I expect anything different then 2004? Different names, same corruption, same money and power involved and worst of all....same frickin "electronic voting optons" = b.s. Sorry, am not very optimisstic tonight; too realistic.

[Dems Will Win]

57. It's not the Judicial Branch, it's the Royal Branch...

[stepnw1f]

26. This President Should Be Arrested

Blatant abuse of his power once again.

[_dynamicdems]

27. He's evil.

He's destroying our democracy and our environment.

[Nikki Stone 1]

28. kick and recommend-with despair

Just one more goddamned thing.

[rodeodance]

51. yes, with despair

[opihimoimoi]

29. OHHH NOOOOOoooo DOUBLE SECRET IMMUNITY via Dean

Bush......

[mike_c]

30. the KING can do no wrong...?

Rat bastards! We had a revolution to repudiate that idea!

[PurityOfEssence]

31. Because I say so

It's good to be the King.

[mod mom]

32. Is the MSM reporting or hiding this?

[YubaNet]

41. EPA sure notices

Can't say about MSM reporting/ignoring this. But, the last time we published a story about the EPA closing libraries (also from PEER) the EPA couldn't get their spin of the story fast enough to us. An EPA employee then let them have it: http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_41345.shtml

[mod mom]

56. Thank you for getting this out. Sent it to KO + Lou Dobbs.

Here is the link to the PEER and Govt Accountability Project Amici Curiae brief for those interested:

http://www.peer.org/docs/dol/06_31_8_peer_sovereign_immunity_brief.pdf

[rodeodance]

46. I have not heard anything on any news show about this.

[HuffleClaw]

35. so... ...he really DOES think he's a king ???

lord, that is just offensive.

[AtomicKitten]

37. excuse me?

That bastard is neither king nor dictator. He needs to be bitch-slapped back into place and it will take a Democratic Congress to do just that.

[Gman]

38. Sounds like a belated signing statement on a law

he didn't sign. The courts recently have had no problem slapping the shit out of Bush and telling him he is full of same.

[davekriss]

59. Yes, exactly what I thought

And I wonder where our good Attorney General went to law school, the University of Fiji or one of those diploma mills one used to see on the back of match-book covers.

[krispos42]

40. Of course he did this. He's King George, after all.

Remember, boys and girls, as citizens it is YOUR burden to be entirely transparent to the government and the GOVERNMENT'S job to be entirely opaque to you!

Now can you please scoot your chair over to the right a few inches? The spy camera in the smoke detector isn't getting all of you in the picture. And for god's sake, don't mumble when you talk to yourself!

[AzDar]

43. Looks like it's time to rid ourselves of ANOTHER crazy King George..

'The King Can Do No Wrong', my Revolutionary ASS!!

[rodeodance]

44. I want to scream!

[rodeodance]

48. kick for our health (or the health of the nation)

[rodeodance]

49. its a twofer

[rodeodance]

50. oh heck, I will make it a threefer

[IChing]

52. I'll make it a fourth

:kick:

[dave123williams]

53. Somebody should kick that guy in the nuts.

Right after we IMPEACH his dumb ass.

[rodeodance]

55. with a HARD direct aim!

[goforit]

58. AND WE PAY FEDERAL TAXES FOR THIS TYPE OF GOV"T???

AHHHHHhhhh!!!!!!

Phuck'em!!!!

[davekriss]

60. Kinda hard not to

when you work for someone else. The taxes are confiscated from our paychecks weekly.

[ramapo]

63. So absurdly bad....

It is just unbelievable isn't it?