This came to the attention of the Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club. Please read and respond to your elected officials with a strong message: federal control is already out of bounds!
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Rep. James Oberstar intends to reintroduce his bill (H.R. 1356) that would give unprecedented federal control over land, water and people, especially in northern Minnesota. Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold is the author of the senate companion bill (S. 912).
The bill proposes to amend the 1972 federal Water Pollution Control Act that would expand federal authority by changing ‘navigable waters’ to ‘all waters,’ including:
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wetlands
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streams (including intermittent streams)
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mudflats
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sandflats
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sloughs
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prairie potholes
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wet meadows
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playa lakes
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natural ponds
The bill also provides for federal authority over all ‘ACTIVITIES AFFECTING THESE WATERS’ (!!!!!!!!) That, of course, would include things such as forestry, agriculture, mining, recreation, development of any kind, and in short, any human activity of any significance.
The bill has bi-partisan support (there were 167 co-sponsors prior to the election), and has a good chance of passing.
The American Public & Private Property Coalition has been formed and will play a lead role in defeating this bill. As of February 1st, we will have an office is St. Paul. And former U.S. Senator Rod Grams has agreed to serve as a senior advisor to the organization and will do a lot of the work required in Washington.
The bill, in part, is a challenge to two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings (SWANCC v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–2002), and (Rapanos v. U.S.–2006), which were decided in favor of local citizens.
There is opposition to the bill, but there needs to be a statewide and national outcry over this.
What you can do:
1. Forward this to other people, organizations, federal & state legislators, and local elected officials.
2. Send us (PM me and I will forward) the names, addresses, e-mails, or ph. no’s, of contact people in organizations that you know of.
This is not about environmental protection! It’s about control–control that goes way beyond anything that was ever intended.
We are unlikely to get a lot of positive media attention on this, so we’ll have to rely on other forms of communication. People do not know about this, and Rep. Oberstar isn’t talking about it. And believe it or not, this bill does not have to go before the House Natural Resources Committee!