The Interior Secretary with His Pants Down

Washington, DC -- As I write this, the AP is breaking the story about (and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is putting together an emergency press conference to discuss) the Bush Administration's secret plan to repeal the most important sections of the Endangered Species Act. From what we know of the plan, it reprises all of the disdain for science and political trumping of expertise that has characterized previous Bush Administration efforts to dismantle fundamental environmental laws. And it sends a clear signal that the Administration will spend the rest of its days razing the rules and regulations left standing.

This plan to render the ESA impotent would exclude federal biologists from  decisions about whether a federal project threatens species, and it specifies that if an agency chops its projects into small-enough pieces, then "by definition" the project is so small that it cannot be a threat!

So now Kempthorne is going public. These changes have already been called "illegal" by Environment Committee Chair Barbara Boxer and hearken back to the early days of the ESA and the National Environmental Policy Act, when agencies routinely claimed their projects wouldn't endanger the environment because each segment of a road would have no impact on air pollution, and no one timber sale would wipe out a species. The courts repeatedly rebuffed these efforts, so Boxer is on strong ground -- and Congress will have a chance to overturn any rule the Administration issues while it is in session. But this announcement makes it clear that in the next 100 days the Administration will try to do by regulation what it has been blocked from doing for the past eight years.

Comments

[Summer Rhodes]

160 days is it not?

link to the countdown
http://www.officialbushcountdown.com/?gclid=CJX0gNOCipUCFSQtagodk2cZrQ

We must stop the administration from weakening the Endangered Species Act -- or no species will be safe as we face climate change.

[Charyl Gargel]

The fact that what the Bush administration is attempting to do
is illegal, should not shock any of us. What is shocking is how they have managed to side- step the law without any retrabution whatsoever.

[Lesley W]

We have 30 days to comment on these proposed regulations. To comment, go to www.regulations.gov and search for "interagency cooperation under the Endangered Species Act". The document ID is FWS-R9-ES-2008-0093-0001

Hey Sierra club! How about making this an action! Or giving us some sample language for comments?

[Lesley W]

We have 30 days to comment on these proposed regulations. To comment, go to www.regulations.gov and search for "interagency cooperation under the Endangered Species Act". The document ID is FWS-R9-ES-2008-0093-0001

Hey Sierra club! How about making this an action! Or giving us some sample language for comments?

[Dr. J. Singmaster]

The ESA problems will be meaningless if Sierra Club and others continue less than useful action on global warming and on the ever-expanding organic waste mess that is soon to be burying us and most other species. They may bury us directly or by causing more and more premature deaths due to their being mishandled to pollute our water with various health problems arising from the germs, toxics and drugs being spread all over.
You may want to check the New Scientist Environment Blog for my comment on the last Fred's Footprint concerning his wondering about getting anything meaningful done on global warming. Other comments about the wastes including a curative action have been posted on Revkin's Dotearth NYTimes blog including July 27 on "Generation E?" # 13, 186 & 213 and Aug. 4's BLAH one # 25, 179 & 186. Dr. J. Singmaster, Fremont, CA

[Erika L]

Here's the direct link to make a comment:
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064806c5826

[laura]

Can someone post the MAILING ADDRESS to send comments to the Dept of the interior? Their website is (conveniently) not working for me