S.2122: The Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012
CURRENT SPONSORS: Sens DeMint, Lee, Coburn, Ron Johnson, Hatch, Toomey
S.2122 has been endorsed by FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity
A Tele-Town Hall meeting will be conducted about this bill on March 13 at 9 PM EST. To register for the Tele-Town Hall conference call, please click on the following link now: http://bit.ly/xJFu9w
In 2005, Mike and Chantell Sackett of Idaho bought a plot of land and planned to build a home in
a neighborhood where other houses have stood for years. Four years ago they filled the
property with dirt and rock, preparing to begin construction. Three federal officials showed up
and demanded they halt construction claiming the lot was a wetland, protected under the Clean
Water Act. The EPA demanded that the property be returned to its original state, requiring that
tens of thousands of dollars be spent to remove fill material and replant vegetation. The
Sacketts faced $75,000 in daily fines if they did not comply, and criminal liability if they
continued construction. The case of Sackett v. EPA was heard before the Supreme Court on
January 9, 2012.
The Sacketts case is not unique. Thousands of property owners across America are facing similar
aggressive action from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, with no legal means to fight back.
Together, the EPA and the Army Corps have become rogue agencies, threatening the Constitutional
rights of landowners to do what they please with their own property. In fact, the Army Corps spends
$193 million a year just to prosecute law-‐ abiding citizens like the Sacketts.
Senator Rand Paul has introduced the Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012 to bring
common sense back to federal water policy. The bill will do the following:
- Redefine "navigable waters" to explicitly clarify that waters must be actually navigable n fact, or "permanent, standing or continously flowing bodies of water that form geological features commonly known as streams, oceans, rivers and lakes that are connected to waters that are navigable-‐ in-‐ fact.
- Excludes ephemeral or intermittent streams the streams that sometimes form when rain falls-from federal jurisdiction.
- Restrains the EPA and teh Army Corps from regulating or "interpreting" the definition of a navagable water without Congressional authorization.
- Protects the rights of states to have primary authority over the land and water within their borders.
- Prohibits federal agents from entering private property without the express consent of the landowner.
- Requires the government to pay double the value of the land to any landowner whose property value is diminished by a wetlands designation.
Environmental protection must be balanced with the fundamental American right to private property.
The Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012 will restore common sense to federal jurisdiction
over navigable waters, and place reasonable limitations on agencies that have become dangerously out
of control.
For more information or to cosponsor, please contact Rachel Bovard at
Rachel_Bovard@paul.senate.gov or at x46675.
