Polluters are sued, as Bush administration fails to regulate or enforce

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Pollution in the Water, Lawsuits in the Air
With Damage to Ecosystem Jeopardizing Tourist Industry, Oklahoma Fights Back
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 28, 2006; Page A03


Arrowhead Resort in Oklahoma sits on the banks of the Illinois River, a waterway that is polluted by chicken waste. (Photos By Juliet Eilperin -- The Washington Post)

....Frustrated that nearly four years of talks failed to produce a solution, Oklahoma is now suing eight firms -- including Arkansas giant Tyson Foods Inc. -- on the grounds that the chicken waste applied to crops near the river contains hazardous chemicals that are damaging the ecosystem and jeopardizing the region's tourist industry....

***

Across the country, states and localities are suing polluters outside their jurisdiction, and sometimes each other, in efforts to curb air and water contamination that respects no borders. They say they are forced to act because Congress and the Bush administration have failed to crack down on everything from storm water runoff to dumping of invasive aquatic species.

In some cases, there is little in the way of federal law or regulation. This is the case with the factory farms in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The administration is still sorting through which regulations apply to poultry, dairy and hog farmers, and existing rules don't apply to those who buy the waste for fertilizer. And some lawmakers, such as Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Tex.), are lobbying to permanently exempt these industries from even minimal federal oversight....

***

...New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer, who has sued EPA over its aquatic species policy as well as air pollution rules, said the flurry of legal activity reflects "the lack of enforcement" by the administration.

"It's more than a trend, it's an ideological decision that's been made by the Bush administration," Spitzer said. "Into that void we have stepped in to enforce the law."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700849.html

[acmavm]

1. Whether blivet is pulling the strings or is just a pathetic puppet of the

neos, this is his legacy. It will all go down on the record of his 'terms' in office. He will be remembered as the biggest crook that ever sullied the White House.

And the fact that he sees otherwise shows just how detatched from reality the man is.

[texpatriot2004]

2. Whatever happened to Christian Stewardship? nm

[rodeodance]

3. good for OK.

[MH1]

4. And then the repukes will cry about "our litigation happy society."

:puke: