Your dishwasher is not broken

Photo credit: www.pinterest.com

A little household break in this wild run-up to the mid-terms...

The EPA cannot stop meddling, and even though the phosphates were eliminated from your detergents over four years ago, I am still doing battle with our dishwasher. Glassware doesn’t come out bright and clean but often has a dull haze. Occasionally, particles stick to the dishes. I have known for several years that it’s not the dishwasher. From Mona Charon at theSpokesman-Review blog: 

Our dishwashers are fine. The reason our dishes are dirty is that the environmentalists have succeeded in banning phosphates from dishwashing soap.

There are interim and ongoing remedies. None of them are energy efficient or what the green environmentalists would approve of.

PROBLEM: My dishwasher repairman suggested the All-In-One Finish detergent along with a super rinse. It’s better than the regular products. But half the time, when the wash cycle is finished, lots of soapsuds remain.

A SOLUTION: Close the door and run the “Rinse and Hold” cycle one or two times until the soap is gone. Open the door to let the dishes dry.

PROBLEM: Glassware comes out of the wash cycle with a haze; dishes have bits of food stuck to them.

A SOLUTION: Empty the dishwasher and run a complete wash cycle with no detergent. Close the detergent tray so you can hear when it flips open. When it does, open the door (slowly to interrupt the water flying all over the place) and dump in one cup of white distilled vinegar. Close the door to resume the cycle, and check in on the proceedings after several minutes. If the water is very soapy, it’s because the vinegar is breaking up caked detergent and grease in the dishwasher mechanisms. Repeat wash cycles with vinegar until the water runs clear in mid-cycle. 

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Buy Tri-sodium phosphate by the bag at your local hardware store. Add it into the wash cycle at the same as the detergent is released, or add a pinch into the soap compartment. (Disclaimer: This is not intended to be legal advice.)

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Use disposable paper plates. More trash, of course. Plastic plates and utensils would be even worse.

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Find detergents with higher phosphate content. It used to be easy to buy commercial products on the web. But most of the vendors have started asking for identification to prove you are ordering the product for commercial use. 

Restaurants are exempt from all this nonsense, which rather proves the obvious: Reducing or eliminating phosphates from detergents result in dishes that are not clean. The EPA was worried about negligible, and in some cases, hypothetical damage to the environment by phosphate run-off, but they won’t be happy until we cast our dishwashers into the landfills of history. In the meantime, the EPA rules are counter-productive, resulting in more water and electricity consumption and yet more dirty dishes.

Another phosphate resource, ActiveRain, is here.

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The EPA: An Out of Control Government Agency

As the EPA tries to systematically impose their will on every aspect of your life in trying to make air and water cleaner than God himself ever intended - it appears these out of control green energy goose-steppers stepped into a knee deep pile of their own!

Coming out at a recent congressional hearing we see that not only are their policies a fraud, but the whole agency is an out of control fraud!!!

From USA Today -- 

For years, a senior Environmental Protection Agency employee viewed pornography at work for up to six hours a day. Managers entered fraudulent pay records for work-from-home employees who did no work. A top EPA personnel manager arranged for paid internships for friends and family — and bonuses for her own daughter. Another employee was paid for more than a year after moving to a nursing home.

Those are among the allegations aired Wednesday at a congressional hearing into whether the EPA is capable of policing itself in the aftermath of the John Beale case.

Beale, a former deputy assistant administrator, was convicted last year of theft after he took an EPA paycheck and travel expenses for 13 years while falsely claiming to be out of the office serving as a CIA agent.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Beale's deception was "just the tip of EPA's fraudulent iceberg" and convened the hearing to figure out whether there are systemic management problems at the agency.

The most serious allegation came from investigator from the inspector general's office who testified she was assaulted while questioning an employee of the Office of Homeland Security, an EPA unit unrelated to the Cabinet department. Special Agent Elisabeth Heller Drake said Steven Williams, an EPA senior intelligence adviser, physically obstructed her as she attempted to investigate and that she would have arrested him if he wasn't a government official. Williams did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called the October 2013 incident "one of the most disturbing things I've heard in 17 years in Congress. ... This is not part of your job description to go through that kind of hell."

The U.S. attorney's office declined to bring assault charges, and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy put a halt to the inspector general's investigation four days later, citing "discord, distrust and conflict" between the two offices. She also asked an outside inspector general to investigate the incident.

EPA spokeswoman Alisha Johnson said the incident "is an isolated instance and does not represent the manner in which the EPA and its Inspector General work cooperatively on a daily basis." She said the administrator called off the investigation "to ensure the safety of all EPA employees" and consult with outside agencies.

EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe told the committee that the EPA has cooperated with 2,600 inspector general audits and investigations since 2009. "The overwhelming majority of the approximately 16,000 EPA employees are dedicated, hardworking, professional public servants — a point on which I know the Inspector General agrees with me." He said he would instruct the Department of Homeland Security to turn over documents related to the investigation Wednesday.

Among other incidents the committee is investigating:

• An unnamed high-level civil service employee had 7,000 pornographic files on his work computer and visited pornographic websites two to six hours a day since 2010. The Justice Department is investigating.

• Office of Administration Director Renee Page sold jewelry and weight loss products from her office during business hours, according to an inspector general's report. The report said she also hired 17 family members and friends as interns, and that she arranged for her daughter, also an EPA employee, to get a cash bonus out of her budget. Page did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

• An EPA employee with a work-from-home job did no work for five years — and still earned a total of $600,000 and performance bonuses. She retired after an inspector general investigation.

• Another unnamed employee kept getting regular paychecks for more than a year after moving to an assisted living facility. The Justice Department is investigating.

And They Said There is No War on Coal!

This past Tuesday President Obama, again through regulation over legislation, unveiled new tighter rules for power plants that will include a push for more restrictive green building codes and costly restrictions on household appliances.

The economy of Ohio, the state that is America’s 4^th-largest user of coal, faces a grave threat from these proposed EPA regulations that would halt coal use in existing electric power plants and prevent the building of new coal-burning plants.

That’s a dangerous move with the economy still struggling to recover, especially in Ohio where an enormous share of our power – 78 percent – is generated with coal (nationwide, the share is 43 percent).

The rules will kill many of the 27,000 Ohio jobs dependent on the coal industry. Not to mention the devastating impact on jobs and the economy in other coal producing and coal dependent states. Business and residential utility customers will certainly face greater risk of electricity price spikes as we rely for power generation more on natural gas (with its historically volatile price) and less on coal (with its historically stable, lower prices).

While it is vital to the future of our country that we use our natural resources to diversify our energy portfolio, it is only prudent to allow the technology of these other sources to grow through free market investment by the private sector – not government mandates.

Advancing technology already allows utilities to burn coal cleaner than in the past. Soon, coal-fired power plants that emit virtually no carbon dioxide will be feasible. But with President Obama & his EPA continuing their War on Coal by trying to make air cleaner than God himself ever intended, that will never be allowed to happen.

For highlights of President Obama's new plan to cut carbon, click here.  For a PDF of the complete action plan (assault), click here.

Cut the red tape!

Rep. Kelly’s Rousing Floor Speech Receives Standing Ovation and Chants of “USA!”

Kelly's Speech on the floor of the House (via Canada Free Press)

The War on Prosperity

It's not just President Obama's infamous "You didn't build that" speech that reveals his hostility to entrepreneurship and old-fashioned American initiative. This chart from National Review Online illustrates just how much of a drag chain this Administration is on businesses, large and small - and on us, the consumers and taxpayers:

With devastating clarity, it illustrates the miles and miles of red tape that bind the hands of entrepreneurs and CEOs like those of hijacked jet passengers. Regulation is a major and mounting cost that consumes scare resources — namely growth capital, management time, and basic patience….

There has now been a 52 percent increase in major regulations or red tape in [Obama's] administration and more regulations on the books than in any time in the history of America.

These regulations are the tentacles that the Administration is using to strangle the economy, push through Agenda 21 policies, wage the "War on Coal," etc., all of which will hit you in the pocketbook. Get ready for your utility bills to skyrocket. And stay tuned for more local action alerts to fight the "War on Coal" in Ohio.

Obama’s War Against Coal: coming soon to YOUR electricity provider

The Obama administration’s EPA regulations (read: strangulations) will essentially destroy the coal industry, and that will hit YOU in the pocketbook. Just six weeks ago came this bad news [emphasis added]:

One of the country’s largest regional power grid operators, PJM Interconnection, today announced the results of its annual auction that locks in electricity capacity prices three years in advance. Today’s auction established capacity prices for 2015-2016, the first year electric generators will be required to comply with EPA’s costly Utility MACT rule. The results of the auction confirmed the predictions of Republican lawmakers who warned that EPA’s new power rules would drive up electricity costs for American consumers.

The auction set capacity prices at $136 per megawatt (MW) across the PJM footprint, which includes the Mid-Atlantic region and parts of the Midwest. This price is 8 times higher than the $16 per MW price that was set for 2012-2013. Electricity customers in parts of Ohio will be hit the hardest, with the auction setting the price for capacity resources in northern Ohio at $357 per MW, nearly triple the 2014-2015 price set last year. As explained by PJM, the “auction was impacted by an unprecedented amount of planned generation retirements (more than 14,000 MW) driven largely by environmental regulations, which drove prices higher than last year’s auction.”

President Obama’s EPA has issued and proposed a suite of costly new rules on America’s power sector that have already resulted in the premature closure of power plants across the country. Today’s auction shows how these plant closures will affect how much American families and businesses pay for electricity.

“The PJM auction forecasts a dim future where Americans will be paying more to keep the lights on. We are seeing more and more coal plants fall victim to EPA’s destructive regulatory agenda, and as a result, we are seeing more job losses and higher electricity prices,” said Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY). “The Obama administration continues to wage a war on affordable energy, and it is the American people who will suffer the consequences.”

Action Alert: Stop the War on Coal

Earlier this week we posted on how Region 1 EPA Administrator Curt Spalding stated how they feel "Coal Communities should just go away."

The EPA led "War on Coal" being launched by the Obama Administration and supported by Senator Sherrod "Sluggo" Brown (D-OH) will soon cause electricity rates in the N/E Ohio areas to soar due to four power plants in this region being shut down over the new "air cleaner than God ever intended" restrictions on coal plants.

What is happening here in this area is only a small snapshot of what would happen on a larger scale should President Obama, Senator Sluggo and the EPA be successful in their War on Coal.

Below is info on how you can help stop President Obama's out of control EPA and their War on Coal....

From Tea Party Patriots --  

Stop the War on Coal by INSISTING on a YES vote from your Senators on Senate Joint Resolution 37 (S. J. Res. 37), the Inhofe Resolution.

PASSION: This week’s Passion to Action focuses on our efforts to stop another push to increase your utility bills. If you remember, the President warned us that under his Cap and Trade plan, electricity rates would “necessarily skyrocket,” as coal plants would have to be retrofitted and the costs passed on to consumers.

We need to let our Senators know that we disagree. Coal is a plentiful, useful and safe source of electrical power. Many people and many small business “job creators” are dependent on coal to provide consistent low cost energy. At a time when the economy is struggling, this is one of Mr. Obama’s worst ideas. Click here to learn more.

BACKGROUND: Democrats have owned the “global warming will kill us” issue for several decades, but some Republicans , like Senator John McCain, author of the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act of 2003, and former congressman Bob Inglis helped to make it a bipartisan issue beginning in 2003. Bob Inglis lost his seat in 2010 and John McCain nearly did as well. In fact, when you look at the voting records of incumbents who were replaced in that election, you might say that the 2010 mid-term elections were a referendum on “Cap and Trade”. It lost, and when it did, President Obama said, ““Cap and trade was just one way of skinning the cat; it was not the only way. It was a means, not an end.” For source, click here.

Instead of Cap and Trade, the Obama Administration has been attempting to reinterpret old laws like the 1970 Clean Air Act to turn them into global warming laws. Their latest regulation is called the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (UMACT) rule (aka MACT, aka “Mercury and Air Toxics Standards” and/or “MATS”). Implementing Utility MACT will raise the cost of coal generated electricity an average of 20% nationally. Unfortunately, there are no environmental benefits associated with the program, but there is a benefit for the President; he gets to keep his word to the Environmental Left to make coal so expensive that alternative energy sources might compete with it. Does this look like a political pay-off to supporters and cronies? It might to someone suspicious of government, someone like you and me. So here’s what we are going to do:

TAKE ACTION 

 Call your Senators TODAY and ask them to vote for S.J. Res. 37, the Inhofe Resolution to overturn Utility MACT. The vote is expected next week. Here are some talking points: This one rule will increase electricity prices 10 to 20 percent nationally.

1. Increasing utility costs on small businesses that could be creating jobs in this weak economy is irresponsible.

2. What this country needs is more freedom for energy producers and fewer, but smarter regulations. CLICK HERE for more detailed information.

3. Inhofe’s resolution will overturn one of the EPA’s most expensive regulations, the Utility MACT. CLICK HERE for more detailed information.

4. Contact Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and tell them to support S.J. Res. 37, the Inhofe Resolution.

Senator Sherrod Brown

Email: http://brown.senate.gov/contact/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/sensherrodbrown

Cleveland Office PH: (216) 522-7272
Cleveland Office Fax: (216) 522-2239
D.C. Office PH: (202) 224-2315
D.C. Office Fax: (202)228-6321

Senator Rob Portman

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robportman

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/robportman
Email: http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

D.C. Office Ph#: (202)224-3353
Cleveland Office Ph#: (216)522-7095
Cincinnati Office Ph#: (513)684-3265
Toledo Office Ph#: (419)259-3895
Columbus Office Ph#: (614)469-6774 / 1-800-205-6446 (OHIO)

OHIO COAL : More Insanity from the EPA

Targets in the EPA's cross-hairs: the eggs industry, our Way of Life Act, and now the coal industry. 

From Ohio Coal Assoc.:

MEDIA STATEMENT: Ohio Coal President Mike Carey

‘EPA Administrator: Obama Coal Rules will Kill Industry’

Columbus, Ohio (June 5, 2012) – In video footage released by Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe yesterday evening, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Curt Spalding said the Obama administrations air regulations will kill the coal industry.

“This video is powerful. It explicitly shows the level of understanding of senior EPA officials that President Obama is trying to vanquish an entire industry,” said Ohio Coal Association President Mike Carey.

The footage was filmed at Yale University at “Beyond Pesticides’ 30^th National Pesticide Forum” held March 30-31, 2012.

Mr. Spalding, a Region 1 EPA Administrator said:

“Lisa Jackson has put forth a very powerful message to the country. Just two days ago, the decision on greenhouse gas performance standard and saying basically gas plants are the performance standard which means if you want to build a coal plant you got a big problem. That was a huge decision.”

“You can’t imagine how tough that was,” Spalding continued. “Because you got to remember if you go to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and all those places, you have coal communities who depend on coal. And to say that we just think those communities should just go away, we can’t do that. But she had to do what the law and policy suggested. And it’s painful. It’s painful every step of the way.”

Watch the video here.

“Coal provides nearly 86 percent of our electricity in Ohio with reserves lasting an estimated 250 years. Destroying our industry, as planned by President Obama, would decimate Ohio because our economy relies on an affordable and abundant supply of electricity to power economic sectors like manufacturing,” said Carey.

The Obama administration’s new air standards would prematurely force the retirement of more than 140 coal-fired electricity generating units from 19 states by 2015. Senator Inhofe is sponsoring a resolution (S.J. Resolution 37) that would disprove EPA’s new standards.

###

Mike Carey is available for media interviews by request. Please contact Mike Carey directly if you would like to schedule an interview: 614-228-6336 / Media Contact: Matthew Henderson / Cell: 614-499-6602

THE AMERICAN “WAY OF LIFE ACT": GREEN AND PAINFUL

Last week, it was the federal government attempting to control the egg industry. Its agenda: to strangle the egg industry with regulation. Today, it’s revelations on video about the EPA’s intention to control your entire “Way of Life.” From CNSnews.com:

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) released a video montage of Obama EPA Regional Administrators longing to impose a green “Way Of Life Act” on Americans through the regulatory regime of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Regional Administrators talk of how they plan to “crucify” domestic energy producers, make their businesses “painful every step of the way,” or otherwise compel a green way-of-life. . . .

“The purpose of this video is to get to know President Obama’s “green generals” – the regional administrators – who are going into battle for the Obama-EPA, working hard to force a green “way of life act” in regions across the United States.” . . .

[The former Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz says on video]: “[U]nfortunately I don’t have a Way of Life Act [that] I can enforce but at the same time EPA isn’t toothless and we do have certain things that we can enforce with the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

Tomorrow (June 6, Weds.), the House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing on the EPA. It’s a large Committee, but here are three recommended calls:

Fred Upton, (R-MI) Chairman: PH: (202) 225-3761 | Fax: (202) 225-4986 / Link to Facebook, Twitter, etc. here

Henry Waxman (D-CA) Ranking member: PH: (202) 225-3976 | Fax: (202) 225-4099 / Link to Facebook, Twitter, etc. here

Bob Latta (R-OH) (the only committee member from Ohio) PH: (202) 225-6405 / Link to Facebook, Twitter, etc. here

New legislation to counter EPA attempt to Regulate Farm Dust

Trying to make air cleaner than God ever intended -- The EPA!

From The Voice of Agriculture --

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 13, 2011 – New legislation introduced by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating naturally occurring farm dust is welcome news for the nation's farmers and ranchers, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"Regulation of farm dust by EPA could severely hamper the ability of farmers and ranchers to meet the world’s food needs," said AFBF President Bob Stallman.

EPA is reviewing existing regulations for particulate matter, which includes soot and dust. Soot is generated by car emissions and factories; dust occurs naturally.

According to Stallman, planting and harvesting crops, livestock moving from place to place and people driving down dirt roads are just a few of the ways dust occurs naturally on farms and in rural areas.

"The current rules pertaining to dust are adequate," said Stallman. "Increased regulation of farm dust could result in decreased productivity and higher food prices, coupled with lost jobs in the rural economy. Moreover, the scientific basis for establishing such regulation has been called into question and it has not been demonstrated that the benefits of EPA regulation would outweigh the costs."

The new legislation introduced by Johanns prevents EPA from making dust regulations even more stringent, while taking health concerns into consideration.

"State and local governments would have the authority to regulate dust in localized areas if necessary," Stallman explained. “But a national standard would not be imposed.”

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EPA funding Global Warming Programs in Foreign Countries

Thanks to Matthew Vermillion, Tea Party Patriots / Oklahoma State Coordinator, for the following info on how green energy goons at the EPA have sent over $27 Million to China, Thailand, Russia and other foreign countries to fund the liberal climate change agenda...

From Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) --

OUTRAGE OF THE YEAR: EPA SENDING TAX DOLLARS TO CHINA

July 7, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. - "Outrage of the Year" - that is what U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is calling the distribution of tax dollars to China by the Obama Administration, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to promote its climate change agenda. This information comes from a report released by Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"As the White House calls Congressional leaders to a meeting to address our nation's debt and spending crisis, a report recently released by Congressman Fred Upton shows that the Obama EPA has been spending millions of taxpayer dollars in places like China - a country we already owe 1.2 trillion - to promote its liberal climate change agenda," Senator Inhofe said. "This is truly the outrage of the year.

"When I became Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 2003, I made it a priority to provide greater oversight over how EPA spends our tax dollars. By 2004, EPA was required to implement a new competition policy for awarding funds and maintain a Grants Award Database so that taxpayers could view EPA's spending information online.

"Chairman Upton's report makes use of this database: it shows that EPA has awarded $718,000 to China's EPA to assist with control of air emissions, $700,000 to Thailand to collect methane from pig farms and $150,000 to Interpol for climate change programs. Since 2009, $27 million in taxpayer dollars has been sent to foreign countries."

For Chairman Upton's report on the out of control EPA, click here. To read more about how the EPA is using your money to teach pigs in Thailand how to pass gas in a jar and to fund more liberal climate programs in other countries, please click here.

Below is a YouTube Video of Senator Inhofe with more on the subject (Click for Video Transcript)

41 U.S. Senators Standing up against the EPA & The Clean Water Act

From Senator Thad Cochran --

COCHRAN JOINS CHALLENGE TO EPA & ARMY CORPS
NEW GUIDANCE ON CLEAN WATER ACT JURISDICTION

Group of Senators Ask Agencies to Abandon Proposed “Clarifications” on Water Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is among 41 U.S. Senators who have asked two federal agencies to abandon a regulatory guidance effort that would change rights of communities, farmers and others who are subject to the Clean Water Act.

Cochran has signed a letter authored by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) that asks the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to take no further action on an interim draft guidance document on identifying waters protected by the Clean Water Act.  The letter questions the legality and necessity for change, and takes issue with the prospect of the guidance being used as “the first step toward a formal rulemaking in the future.”

The interim draft guidance notice (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0409) was published in the Federal Register on May 2.  Public comments on the document are being accepted until July 31.

“The Clean Water Act has a proper role in protecting our waters, but the draft guidance offered by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps amounts to a slippery slope into a regulatory swamp,” Cochran said.  “The guidance document should be pulled and thoroughly reconsidered based on the many serious questions being raised about the legal authority behind it, as well as the potential ramifications for those who will be regulated.”

The detailed letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy questions the necessity of the new federal guidance because there have not been new legislative changes or court decisions altering the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act since the last official guidance was implemented several years ago.

Led by Inhofe, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senators contend that the new guidance has clear regulatory consequences and will shift the burden of proving jurisdictional status from the EPA and Army Corps to the regulated communities. 

“While we question seriously the need for this new guidance and believe that the Agencies lack the authority to rewrite their jurisdictional limitations in this manner, one thing is clear:  it is fundamentally unfair to the States and the regulated community (including our nation’s farmers and other property owners) to subject lands and waters under their control to a change in their legal status of this magnitude via a ‘guidance document,’” the Senators wrote.

The Senators go on to argue that the draft interim guidance will substantively change how the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers decide which waters are subject to federal jurisdiction and will impact the regulated community’s rights and obligations under the Clean Water Act.

“This guidance has clear regulatory consequences and goes beyond being simply advisory guidelines.  The draft guidance will shift the burden of proving jurisdictional status of waters from the Agencies to the regulated communities, thus making the guidance binding and fundamentally changing the legal rights and responsibilities that they have.  When an agency acts to change the rights of an individual, we believe that the agency must go through the formal rulemaking process,” the Senators wrote.  “We respectfully request you abandon any further action on this guidance document.”

Links:

• Federal Register Notice:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/signed_epa-hq-ow-2011-0409_frn.pdf 
• Proposed Guidance Document:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/wous_guidance_4-2011.pdf
• EPA Clean Water Act:  http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/CWAwaters.cfm

###

New EPA Regulations Cause Power Plant Shut Downs in Ohio

Continuing to use the Clean Air Act as the Hammer (the Clean Water Act is the Sickle) the goose-stepping green energy goons at the EPA have imposed new regulations for coal-fired power plants. Not stopping until they have the country running around in loin clothes and rubbing sticks together for heat, these new EPA mandates will increase the costs of electricity from 10% - 35% and put over 600 people out of work.

With these new "air cleaner than God ever intended" regulations under the Clean Air Act's, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for Coal-Fired Power Plants, American Electric Power (AEP) is having to spend billions of dollars to come into compliance and will shut down or down size five coal-fired power plants, three of them in Ohio....

From Rep. Bob Latta --

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) issued the following statement after Columbus-based American Electric Power (AEP) announced Thursday it would close and downsize three plants in Ohio at a loss of 157 jobs, to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new coal-fire plant regulations:

“This is a perfect example of the EPA’s assault on American business and the economy.  The cost of complying with burdensome regulations will cause higher electricity bills and fewer jobs in America. Time and time again, I, along with other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, have said that overreaching regulations and stringent timetables for compliance are a deterrent to job growth and energy stability.

“The EPA must come to terms with the fact that their overly broad one-size-fits-all regulations hurt companies. The EPA should setup a mechanism by which states can apply for regulatory waivers, giving states the flexibility to determine their business and environmental priorities.”

AEP expects EPA regulations to cause a net loss of approximately 600 power plant jobs with annual wages totaling approximately $40 million.

Senator Hatch introduces "Defending America's Affordable Energy and Jobs Act"

In attempts to further stem the out-of-control EPA, the rogue regulatory agency hell-bent on imposing Cap & Trade regulations through the Clean Air Act, Senator Orrin Hatch introduced the Defending America's Affordable Energy and Jobs Act....

From Senator Orrin Hatch --

WASHINGTON – Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have introduced legislation that would pre-empt federal agencies from restricting human carbon-dioxide emissions without authorization from Congress.

The Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act also would prevent any legal action from being taken against greenhouse gas emitters for their contribution to climate change.

"With this bill, we are reclaiming Americans’ right to have their elected officials have a say in the laws and regulations that effect them,” Hatch said. “Last time I checked, Congress makes the laws and the Administration implements the people's laws.

“We have put a lot of focus on the EPA for attempting to regulate carbon emissions without the express consent of Congress,” Hatch added. “In truth, though, the President is attempting to implement these controls throughout the entire federal government, and we don't intend to stand idly by and watch as the U.S. Constitution is circumvented in this way."

The bill would define the government's ability to implement the Clean Air Act only for pollutants which harm humans as a result of direct exposure, but not based on the theory that a greenhouse gas may contribute to general warming of the planet.

The bill would also move the existing oversight of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles away from the EPA, and place the effort under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.

Combined with Senator Rand Pauls REINS Act, in which Hatch is a co-sponsor, the "Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act" will serve as a useful tool in combating the EPA's -- Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy. 

The Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy is the battering ram of the Clean Air Act.  This, along with court ordered consent decrees, the EPA is trying to impose Cap & Trade regulations on small businesses such as dry cleaners, gas stations, restaurants and 28 other industries. 

Make a Public Comment on the NEORSD Sewer Rate Increase

 ACTION ALERT

The next step for the imposing of the proposed sewer rate increase in 63 communities in Cuyahoga and parts of Summit, Lorain & Lake County is the filing or formalizing of the proposed Consent Decree recently approved by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

The proposed Consent Decree between the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) and the EPA has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of OH.  This Consent Decree is for the $3 billion in upgrades to reduce Combined Sewer Overflow's (CSO's) as mandated by the EPA under the Project Clean Lake initiative and the Clean Water Act.  (United States and the State of Ohio v. Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Civil Action No. 10-cv-02895).

The Notice of Lodging of a Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act can be read by clicking here.

With the filing of this Consent Decree the Justice Dept has a 30 day period for public comment on the the proposed rate increases and mandated repairs.  Please take the time to make a public comment by email, U.S. Mail, fax and phone. 

Comments should be addressed to;

Assistant Attorney General  (Please note below RE: on envelope if mailing)

Environment and Natural Resources Division

P.O. Box 7611

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, DC 20044-7611

Fax: (202)514-0097 

Email: pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov

AND

Tonia Fleetwood / Legal Information Specialist

PH: (202)514-1547

FX: (202)514-0097

Email; tonia.fleetwood@usdoj.gov

PLEASE NOTE: For all correspondence & comments to be considered you must reference; 

United States v. Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-08177/1

You can also approach the elected officials in your community and request that they pass a resolution against these arbitrary increases mandated by the EPA on an already economically distressed area.  Ask your elected official to forward the Resolution to the above contact information.

The Consent Decree and the $3 Billion EPA mandate to reduce CSO"s are the only sewer/infrastructure addressed in this proposed agreement. The combined sewer overflow is not the same and is seperate from a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and storm water management.  In the near future we can expect the EPA will also mandate upgrades for SSO's due to the failing sanitary infrastructure throught this region/watershed.

What is a CSO? (Click here for map)

What is a SSO?

What is Storm Water Management?

All three of the above fall under the Clean Water Act and are regulated by the EPA. To sum this up, the sewer rate increase for the $3 billion in repairs will only address the issues with CSO's and NOT SSO's or Storm Water Management issues. That means -- after the rate increase for the CSO' problem, they will soon be asking for MORE of your money to make EPA mandated upgrades on the SSO's and Storm Water issues.

Previous Sewer Rate Increase Posts;

1.) http://clevelandteapartypatriots.blogspot.com/2010/11/action-alert-stop-sewer-rate-increase.html

2.) http://clevelandteapartypatriots.blogspot.com/2010/11/action-alert-stop-sewer-rate-increase_22.html

3.) http://clevelandteapartypatriots.blogspot.com/2010/11/neorsd-public-meeting-for-sewer-rate.html

Comments from Middleburg Hts Mayor Gary Starr & County Council-elect Dave Greenspan on proposed Sewer Rate Increase (Video)

Comments from the NEORSD, Middleburg Hts Mayor Gary Starr & County Council-elec Dave Greenspan after he NEORSD public meeting on the $3 Billion Clean Lake Project.... (H/T NotAtypicalPatriot)

Action Alert: STOP THE SEWER RATE INCREASE

ACTION ALERT

Stop the Sewer Rate Increase

At the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) public hearing this past Wednesday night nearly 250-300 people showed up to voice their displeasure's over the proposed sewer rate increase. Other than Julius Ciaccia (NEORSD Executive Director), the only NEORSD Board Members present were Middleburg Hts Mayor Gary Starr & Ron Sulik. 

After hearing comments from citizens & Tea Party members from across the District, when asked if he would support the moratorium on the rate increase -- Mr. Sulik "was still undecided."  Whereas, Mayor Starr was a "star" in speaking out against this gross abuse of power by the NEORSD & the U.S. EPA and requested a 1yr moratorium on these increases that will cause an increase in your sewer bill to more than $50 a month by 2016 and eventually to more than $140 per month.

The increase to fund the $3 Billion Clean Lake Project is over, above & separate from the additional Storm Water Management Fees the NEORSD is also seeking to impose on behalf of the U.S. EPA & the Clean Water Act.

The NEORSD will vote on this rate increase at 12:30pm on December 2, 2010. In a NEORSD meeting held today, Mayor Starr made a motion to re-schedule the time of this meeting at 7:00pm so it would afford the public the availability to attend this meeting.  NOT ONE BOARD MEMBER WOULD SECOND THE MOTION! In fact, NEORSD Board President Darnell Brown found Mayor Starr's Motion -- out of order!

By not attending the public hearing & then by the refusing to even Second a Motion rescheduling the vote at a time where it can be witnessed by the very public they wish impose a tax on by federal edict, shows the board members of the NEORSD, a court-created regulatory & taxing agency created on behalf of the EPA for enforcement of the Clean Water Act (ORC 6119), could care a less about the further hardships their vote will cause on this already financially & economically distressed region.

Our first steps are getting the moratorium in place -- Please contact  the NEORSD Board members and voice your opinion on the increases and request the meeting be reset for 7pm and, the 1yr moratorium be put in place.  Please read entire post for complete list of people to contact.

NEORSD Board Members

Darnell Brown (President)
PH: (216)-664-3990
Email: mayorsactioncenter@city.cleveland.oh.us
Email ATT: Darnell Brown

Ron Sulik (Vice-President)
Email: chapmanj@neorsd.org ATT: Ron Sulik

Mayor Dean DePiero (Secretary)
PH: (440) 885-8001
Fax: 440-885-8012
Email: mayorsoffice@cityofparma-oh.gov

Sheila Kelly (Member)
PH: (216) 295-0100

Walter O'Malley (Member)
PH: (216)621-3090
FX: (216)696-0660
Email: local38@ibew38.org

Mayor Jack Bacci (Member)

PH: (216) 641-7020

FX: 216-641-8485
Email: j.bacci@cuyahogaheights.com

Mayor Gary Starr (Member)

Do not contact; Supports Moratorium

The EPA has recently granted a moratorium in FL, please contact the below EPA offices and request they do the same for here...

EPA Offices

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Lisa Jackson (Administrator)
PH: (202)564-4700

US Environmental Agency / Region 5

Susan Hedman (Region 5 Administrator)
PH: (312)886-3000
Email: hedman.susan@epa.gov

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

Chris Korleski (Director)
PH: (614) 644-2782
FX: (614) 644-3184
Email: chris.korleski@epa.state.oh.us

Laura Powell (Asst. Director)
PH: (614) 644-2782
Fx: (614) 644-3184
Email: Laura.Powell@epa.state.oh.us

OH EPA N/E Ohio District

Bill Skowronski (District Chief)
PH: (330) 963-1130
FX: (330) 487-0769

Keith Riley (Asst. District Chief)
PH: (330) 963-1111
FX: (330)487-0769
Email: keith.riley@epa.state.oh.us

When you are done contacting the above NEORSD Board members & EPA offices, we urge you to also call the following people;

County Executive-Elect Ed Fitzgerald
PH: (216) 529-6600
Email: mayor@lakewoodoh.net

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
PH: (216)664-3990
Email: mayorsactioncenter@city.cleveland.oh.us

Mayor & Council of your City

When contacting your Mayor & Council express your dismay they were not present at the NEORSD meeting last night representing your community.  Ask them if their absence meant they don't care about the increases or does their absence mean they support them?

Mayor Starr of Middleburg Hts has contacted all 63 communities in the NEORSD and has requested they sign on to a statement supporting the request for a moratorium on the rate increase.  To date the cities that have signed on in support are; Village of Macedonia, City of Lyndhurst, City of Broadview Hts.

Most likely your Mayor and/or Council member will tell you they have no authority over the NEORSD and there is nothing they can do.  They are to stand and fight against anything that negatively affects the residents & city they represent.  Should they not come out publicly against this draconian sewer rate increase -- you will remember this when it is time for their re-election.

County Councilman-Elect Dave Greenspan, Middleburg Hts Councilman-at-Large Ray Guttman & Middleburg Hts Ward 4 Councilman John Grech & former Congressman Ron Mottl were the ONLY other public officials in attendance. They have no authority over the NEORSD either - but they were there standing with the residents against this sewer rate increase. Congratulations to these elected officials for doing the right thing! 

And why weren't the elected officials of your city present?  Call and find out -- ask that they also support the moratorium. Email us back at clevelandteaparty@gmail.com and we will make their answers and responses public. Click here for more on some recent EPA actions.

Please continue checking back for more contact information or join our email list by signing up at www.clevelandteaparty.com for updates.

Dennis Kucinich wants MORE Government & MORE EPA Control over your Life-- do you?

In the face of a record setting $1.3 Trillion deficit, national debt of nearly $13 Trillion and the current Miracle-Gro type growth of our federal government, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH-10) recently stated he believes we need even MORE spending & MORE government in our life.

Let's take a look at a few samples of what MORE government means....

Controlling our water system --

This Colorado River Basin Geographic Focus Study is part of the ongoing effort outlined in the WaterSMART Secretarial Order signed in February 2010. It reflects a national commitment to understanding water availability in the country and managing that resource for current and future generations. The last comprehensive assessment of water availability for our nation was in 1978 and it is overdue for a new one.

The USGS WaterSMART initiative will produce a water census for the nation, a new and on-going appraisal for water availability that links both water quality and quantity, tracks changing flow, use, and storage of water, as well as developing models and predictive tools to guide its decisions . A relatively new area of science evaluates how much water needs to be left in the streams to support important ecological values. This initiative includes a significant research and assessment effort to help wildlife managers characterize the flow needs for aquatic species and their habitat. Knowing our nation’s water “assets” and rates of use on an ongoing basis is crucial to wise management.

With our Great Lakes under constant threat, we here in OH should share a special interest in this government take over of water. Click here to see the impact on you when the government takes over water supplies.

Setting a future precedent, the EPA, through the Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act (S. 1816)  is emasculating State control of their land & waterways through the Clean Water Act....

“Bigger federal government and expanded federal authority is not in the best interest of our nation,” Stallman said. “By granting EPA the authority to issue what are called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) without allowing states the opportunity to address water issues, this bill would give EPA greater control over land-use decisions that should be made at the local level.”

According to a letter sent to the full Senate by Farm Bureau and the other groups, S. 1816 “is not a regional bill with only local consequences and only benign effects for the rest of the country.”

“S. 1816 does not authorize a program to improve water quality through collaboration, technical assistance, and/or funding,” the letter stated. “Instead, S. 1816 would set a major legislative precedent in federal environmental law, taking the authority and control granted to states and local governments under the Clean Water Act and instead vest it in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – a step never before taken in the 38-year history of the law.

You're thinking, "clean water is good, but do they really want to take control of ALL water?"  You decide...

The legislation, entitled “America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act”, seeks to expand the federal government’s control of U.S. water under the Clean Water Act by removing the existing requirement that regulated waterways be “navigable.”  Under the proposed legislation, all inland waters, on both public and private lands, would be controlled and regulated by the federal government.

On December 8, 2009, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) along with fellow House and Senate Western Caucus members outlined their concerns in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) regarding the Senate “Clean Water Restoration Act” (S.787) and the anticipated introduction of similar legislation in the House.

Removing "non-navigable" would give the EPA control of all water from the pond in your front yard to the puddle in your back yard after it rains. If you think your sewer bills from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are high now -- wait until the EPA imposes more unattainable restrictions.

Controlling our Food & Agriculture --

Are you thinking that is for farms -- they can't control air in our homes...  Think Again! 

“The Obama EPA’s unprecedented attempts to regulate dust on farms and ranches is just another example of how out-of-touch this administration is. Clear evidence acknowledges that the dust standard revision is unnecessary. Yet despite results from scientific studies, the EPA is continuing its attempts to control the day-to-day operations on ranches and farms.

“This unreasonable requirement will cause extreme hardship to farmers, livestock producers and other resource-based industries throughout rural America. People in the West and those in dry climates will be hit especially hard. It’s time the EPA rethink the consequences the farm dust regulation will have on the people who feed us.”

The goal of these projects is to educate Americans on how to reduce the environmental health risks of indoor contaminants through demonstrations, education projects, trainings and outreach efforts. EPA is placing particular emphasis on reaching households with children, low income families, and minorities because they are disproportionately impacted by poor indoor air quality.

The cooperative agreements will:

• Promote positive indoor air quality management practices in schools nationwide, including holistic approaches to environmental issues.

• Create awareness to reduce asthma triggers in the home and encourage the use of an asthma management plan.

• Increase the number of homes tested for radon and built with radon-resistant features, and increase mitigation of radon in existing homes.

• Increase effective indoor air quality practices in office buildings.

• Motivate Americans to improve their home’s indoor air quality.

So it appears clear that the Obama Administration & the EPA are using regulation through the Clean Air & Clean Water Acts to circumvent a non-existent Cap & Trade legislation. 

By voting against the Cap & Trade legislation in the House earlier this year because it did not go far enough, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, by having the EPA impose big government & economically unsound environmental edicts to push his progressive agenda that has continually failed N/E Ohio.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding 17 cooperative agreements to nonprofit organizations and a university totaling approximately $2.4 million to improve indoor air quality nationwide. Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors where levels of air pollution may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels. Indoor air pollutants, such as dust mites, can trigger asthma attacks and radon can cause lung cancer.