EPA Is Attempting To Implement New Illegal Regulations Before The Clean Water Action Plan Lawsuit Is Heard.

Congress must act to stop EPA’S new TMDL / NPDES rule for water regulation. EPA is trying to finalize this permit requirement by the end of June. EPA’S new rules will greatly affect all segments of America from small landowners to large companies, resulting in increased red tape, expense, and litigation.

EPA just sent a letter to your Congressman stating that the new TMDL and NPDES WATER REGULATION Rule’s have been "fixed." THAT IS NOT TRUE. You have just 2 months to convince your elected officials to stop these rules. The program will require landowners to get a federal permit to manage their lands. This will vastly increase the number of and types of users affected.. Once finalized, these new regulations will trigger the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and US Fish and Wildlife and National Marine and Fisheries oversight on private lands.

RJ Smith, Senior Environmental Scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute has analyzed the threat of EPA’S proposed new regulations on Total Maximum Daily Load. He points out how these regulations will be used to achieve cost-free Federal land-use control by requiring landowners to obtain permits to do anything on their land that might cause runoff into creeks, streams or rivers. Permitting costs, appeals and delays and fines would threaten all private tree farmers, farmers and ranchers. As landowners are forced to sell their lands, government agencies and land trusts like The Nature Conservancy would then be able to buy up all this private land at a fraction of its true value. The Conservation and Reinvestment Act, and Land And Water Conservation Fund Monies could well be available to expedite this vast land grab.

DO YOUR PART! ACT TODAY!

Write your Congressman and both senators. Unless we get a huge ground swell of support, EPA will implement NPDES on June 30, 2000.

Send letters. E-mail is not yet effective with Congress.

Address for U.S. Senators: US Senate, Washington, DC 20510

Address for Congress: US House of Representatives, Wash., DC 20515.

Sample Letter:

Your Name

Address

County of Residence

State-Zip code

Telephone number with area code

Congressman_______________

U.S. House of Representatives

State of___________________

Washington, DC 20515

Dear__________________,

You may have recently received correspondence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stating that THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) and NEW TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL) Regulations have been "fixed". I urge you to investigate the validity of this statement. I believe you will find it inaccurate.

The new TMDL/NPDES regulations are an unreasonable move by the EPA to manage owner activity on private property. If is implemented, the new regulations not only will strike at the very core of Constitutional private property rights but will also burden private property owners with excessive expenses to obtain the permits described in NPDES.

I urge you to promptly investigate this dubious situation and report your actions to your constituents. I further request that you immediately hold public hearings in (state) to hear the public’s point of view on NPDES/TMDL regulations.

END OF LETTER