What is most egregious about the bill is the claims "congress already has authority over private land that might be covered by water, or soggy, even if only temporarily. Unlike the Clean Air Act, which seeks to minimize the pollution of the air as it moves over private property, the revisions to the clean water act claims all rights to the land covered -or moistened- by water. If the water was already in congressional authority as written in the bill, all land would be under public trust and under many state laws completely open to public use for recreation. The implications of this new bill has either been poorly thought through or is a very devious and sleazy proposal to dispose of property rights.
>> Mike Friday, May 15, 2009 10:07 PM Report Comment

As an environment loving hippy, I can't help but wonder - will this law make it that much harder to live off the grid, off the land, and close to nature? The last thing you want to do after farming the land all day is to worry about some damned permit, especially when you already take every expense and precaution to avoid harming the environment. The basic American ideal is to be able to be self reliant, without harming anyone and without anyone harming you. The more taxes (ie, permit fees) that must be paid for the fundamentals (and a de facto water tax is even more fundamental than a tax on earned income), the more this becomes impossible.
>> Sasha Shepherd Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:24 AM Report Comment