Last Friday, Maine Public Radio had a story about how Maine has been caught in a environment vs. border protection debate in Congress. It is only now that the impact of that debate is becoming clear, not only to the Pine Tree State, but to residents of Florida.
The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505) is one of those bills that is well meaning but terribly short-sighted. Introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), it's a "get tough" on illegal immigration bill that would exempt the Department of Homeland Security from US environmental laws within 100 miles of our border (including coastlines), so as to free the Border Patrol from regulations whilst chasing the hordes of illegals crossing in to the US.
Here's a list of the laws that would be waived should H.R. 1505 become law:
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Clean Air Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Noise Control Act of 1972, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Farmland Protection Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the Wilderness Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Otay Mountain Wilderness Act of 1999, California Desert Protection Act of 1994, the National Park Service Organic Act, sections of the National Parks and Recreation Act, the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974and the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960.
All these laws would be waived "for purposes of conducting activities that assist in securing the border (including access to maintain and construct roads, construct a fence, use vehicles to patrol, and set up monitoring equipment)" within "100 miles of the international land and maritime borders of the United States."
100 miles might not seem like a lot at first thought - for me, it's an 80 mile drive from my home in Rockland to Maine's largest city, Portland.
But look at what that 100 mile buffer zone looks like when drawn on a map (thanks to the folks at PEW Chartibale Trusts):
That's right - ALL of Florida and nearly all of New England and New York State would be exempted from the laws listed above. And the entirety of Maine would be within the 100 mile zone of exemption.