Bush Ignores His Own Promises on Wetlands

[G_j]

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD

< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=50131 >
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BUSH IGNORES HIS OWN PROMISES ON WETLANDS

Last week, President Bush said he is working to "restore, improve and protect at least 3 million wetland acres over the next five years."<1> But according to a new report released today, the Bush administration has actually done the reverse by using a key court ruling to encourage a severe degradation of wetlands throughout the country.

As the Washington Post reports, the Bush administration "has allowed developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands under a policy adopted last year." The study, which documents the administration policy, was conducted by four nonpartisan environmental watchdog groups and based on documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act. It found that the Bush administration's interpretation of a 2001 Supreme Court decision has ensured that developers are allowed to run roughshod over previous efforts to protect fragile wetlands.<2>

You can read the full report online at www.nrdc.org.

Sources:
1. "Supporting America's Farmers and Conserving America's Land," The White House, 08/04/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=50132.
2. "Report Says U.S. Is Draining Wetlands," The Washington Post, 08/12/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=50133.


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[skygazer]

1. What else is new?

He ignored his own promises on education, on protecting the environment, on running a deficit, and on about a thousand other things.

It just amazes me that anyone can call Kerry a flip flopper and keep a straight face.....

[TheFarseer]

2. I think the only campaign promise he's kept

is the cutting taxes. I would love to go back 4 years and see everything he said in his speeches and see what he's really done. I mean, alot of politicians break *some* campaign promises or just can't get their agenda through congress or a state legislature or what have you, but this guy is just redonkulous.

[G_j]

3. Bush Destroying & Draining Wetlands (like a good Orc)

(story also linked in original)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A57991-2004Aug11?language=printer

Report Says U.S. Is Draining Wetlands
Groups Cite Year-Old Policy

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 12, 2004; Page A21

The administration has allowed developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands under a policy adopted last year, according to a report issued yesterday by four environmental groups.

The study, based on Freedom of Information Act requests, represents the first accounting of how the administration's interpretation of a 2001 Supreme Court decision affected isolated wetlands in states from New Mexico to Delaware. The court ruled that isolated wetlands that do not cross state boundaries and are not navigable do not enjoy the same federal protections as other wetlands just because they serve migratory birds.

Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency said under the ruling, they could not protect such wetlands unless they were connected to interstate commerce.

Environmentalists complained that the directive put millions of acres of rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands at risk, and the report identified more than a dozen cases in which the Corps of Engineers subsequently approved development in areas described as ecologically sensitive.
..more..

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[u2spirit]

4. flip flop

EOM