A Summary of Government Environmental Rules and Procedures Attacked by the Current Administration

Here is an entire article on which rules and regulations that were set up under the Obama Administration have been tossed out by the Trump Administration, which are under threat, and which are being considered to be removed.  The source is the New York Times (a newspaper that Trump deplores).  We don't notice these things until they're gone.  It is good to be aware, so that we can take steps for our protection.  I'm only commenting on those whose effect on our lives might not be obvious.  I apologize if you feel insulted.

01.  Removed stronger flood standards for new Federal funded construction projects.

This is a matter of saving money in the long term by building carefully in the short term.  Building in a flood plane plain is asking for trouble, and not always for the obvious reason.  A major building in a flood plain makes the flooding worse for homes and businesses nearby.  My wife works for the government of a nearby rural county, and businesses absolutely hate flood-related building restrictions.  It costs more money to put together a project that satisfies flood rules, and they feel as if the engineers soak them for all they're worth.  [Nasty remarks about engineers removed.  My sources said that the business, and the government agencies that are anxious for economic development to proceed at the greatest possible speed, just by themselves are enough of a force to handicap cautious best practices proceedings.  "We just don't have the time to slow down to take careful precautions for floods."  We will have even less time to rebuild after floods.]

02.  Tossed out restrictions on an insecticide that the (Obama-era) Environment Protection Agency had classified as dangerous to developing fetuses.

Scott Pruitt has said 'It needs more study.'  Normally, if it is possibly harmful, we would ban the chemical while we study it.  But conservatives, who do not like taking the life of a fetus, do not mind taking the risk that its brain development would be hurt.  Is it that wealthy folks can invest in private water filtration systems, while poor folk who live near farms and field that might use these dangerous chemicals . . . Let's not forget Flint.  Lead and Chlorpyrifos are not the same, but some of the issues are the same.

05.  Revoked a rule that prevented coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams.

This will raise more red flags to those of you who live in coal-mining country, such as we, than for most people.  The crap that comes out of coal mines are highly toxic.  Please do your own research; I hate the very thought of that stuff being put in streams.  The sight of water stained bright orange coming out of coal mines makes lots of people sick, and the smell makes you even sicker.  Bear in mind that the coal from these places kept people warm for centuries.  However thankful we are, it makes absolutely no sense to turn our back on safe practices that prevent poisoning the water that eventually flows into, for instance, the Chesapeake Bay.  Angry coal companies could take the position: screw the Chesapeake.  But only the Trump Administration would consider going along with them.

10.  Proposed the use of seismic air guns for gas and oil exploration in the Atlantic.  (The Obama Administration had refused permits to do this.)

These are loud sound blasts that map the ocean floor by tracing the sound waves that radiate from essentially a super loud air horn [which has been, I think, clamped to the ocean floor].  The loud noises [high-energy sound waves] can harm whales, fish, and turtles.  A bunch of whales with ruptured eardrums seems a small price to pay for lots of gas that we can keep burning, but each of us has to decided exactly how upset we are at this permission.

12.  Repealed an Obama-era rule regulating royalties for oil, gas and coal on government and tribal lands.

The Trumps have decided that these rules cause confusion and uncertainty. Remember that the poor gas companies have millions of lawyers. This is just another way to make sure that native tribes and the Federal Government do not get a reasonable royalty fee for the oil, gas or coal. Royalties are a percentage of the value of the material, a few cents per pound, just like musicians get a few cents each time their recordings are played (in a for-profit venue).

14, 22.  Relaxed the Environmental Review Process for Federal Infrastructure Projects.

This is worth understanding, though conservatives will probably not sympathize with it.  I only know about it because of my wife's work as a county planner.

When a large project is put forward for approval by the county, the plan must contain a chapter that says how the building project will deal with the environmental impact of the construction.  If there is a huge building with an enormous roof, how will the runoff water be dealt with without destroying the stream into which the gutters disgorge?  How will they prevent erosion with runoff from the driveways and parking lots?  If the project is to be build on top of a stream, or even an underground stream (there are such things) how will the building 'pad' be designed to disrupt the water flow as little as possible?  (I'm not an expert, so I'm winging it here.  It can only be more complicated, not less.  It is on the same lines as dealing with the flood plane.)  If the project is subsidized by the Federal Government, the rules are even stricter.  Well, the review process has been relaxed by the Trump Administration.

Not all conservatives are happy with this.  Some of them, those who have been involved with local, county and state planning in Pennsylvania, know the issues.  It does not need an actual flood for bad project design to pop into public attention.

20.  Stopped discouraging the sales of plastic water bottles in national parks!

Hmm.  Whom does this profit?  Clearly, the water bottle lobby is powerful, and has sent a lot of really, really great water Trump's way.  Or the fact that Obama set this policy in place has really got their knickers in a twist.  Fragments of plastic water bottles, over a decade or two, find their way into the oceans, and into the lungs of whales and other sea mammals.  Conservative congressmen hate aquatic mammals with a passion.  Jesus is not going to be happy with them.

The entire list has 48 items; this is only a few of them.  Not all of these are the children of Trump's own genius; some of them are the pet ideas of various congressmen and senators from the GOP.  Read the article for more, but take some tranquilizer first.  They make me mad.

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