Gina McCarthy, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has accepted responsibility for the discharge of 3 million gallons of heavy metal-contaminated waters into waters of the United States. McCarthy says that the discharge pains her and that she accepts responsibility for the release. What interesting statements! I have some questions, which I preface with statements:
As an environmental consultant, I meet with folks who run afoul of EPA. I assure you, when you accept responsibility for environmental violations, get out your checkbook and be prepared to write a lot of zeroes. One local company held a container of oil with chlorinated solvent that it had not known was mixed in the oil for one month longer than it was allowed. It was fined over half a million. (The container never leaked.) Another company, a one-man shop, was fined over a quarter million for allowing chlorinated solvents to flow into a confined barrow pit. Chevron Oil paid out fines of more than $5.35 million to EPA, state and local governments for contaminating Red Butte Creek in Salt Lake City. And on and on. I wonder if McCarthy will pay a proportionate fine?
Question #1: Is McCarthy, not EPA, prepared to be personally fined for ruining the water for most of the Southwestern states?
The cost of remediation is not included in the fining procedures employed by EPA. You make the mess, you clean it up. The fine is for not being more careful. The EPA employee(s) causing the mine discharge says it was an accident. So are all the other violations that come under EPA scrutiny.
Question #2: Will the costs for remediation and penalties be paid for by taxpayers, who did no wrong, or by McCarthy, who cited herself as the person who takes responsibility? In my professional parlance, that means she is the responsible party.
The EPA started with the goal of protecting the environment and public health. EPA has a massive budget, over $8 billion for fiscal year 2014, that covers everything from research to education and re-education for the social justice programs, environmental information, law enforcement, including SWAT teams and, of course, its cadre of attorneys. There is a massive budget for remediation work, for which EPA sues the responsible party for cost recovery.
EPA is a federal agency with sweeping powers to control individuals, companies, governments and even society. The agency uses its power to mandate "environmental improvements" and to fine all offending entities. You can read about those fines on its website and press releases. The agency bankrolls most, if not all, of the states for environmental staff and for environmental projects, then uses the money to force all kinds of “improvements” according to its desires. If the state doesn’t obey the agency, the money is removed from road construction, sewer plant construction or some other things that become entangled in the web. EPA has so far over-reached its original charter that it is no longer recognizable. Since each state has its own environmental agency, this question has to be asked:
Question #3: Since EPA has outgrown its original purpose, and since each state has its own agency to protect each state’s environment, why do we need EPA?
I think we all know that McCarthy is not going to personally accept responsibility for this egregious “mistake.” Under any other circumstance, EPA would have attacked the offending party, including shutting down operations, demanding immediate remedial response and starting talks with attorneys about the billions of dollars in fines to be collected. This mine release is bigger than the BP Deep Horizon Gulf of Mexico release, which cleaned itself up — British Petroleum was fined $4.5 billion. The release from the Colorado mine was caused by EPA employees; have they been fired? Or is McCarthy’s acceptance of responsibility covering them also?
I reiterate, why do we have EPA?
Mark T. Ellis has worked as an environmental consultant for 27 years in 15 states and holds five environmental system patents. Prior to private sector work, he worked for 10 years in what is now the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.