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Property rights may be sacrosanct in the United States, but that doesn't mean that landowners are free to harm wildlife or impair the land, water, and air that people and wildlife depend on. Here are two key rules that protect U.S. land no matter who hold the deed. The Endangered Species Act protects plants and animals that are listed by the federal government as endangered or threatened. The first designation applies to a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or most of its range, while the second applies to one that is likely to become endangered in the near future. when a species is listed, the habitat it needs to survive must be protected as well. The Endangered Species Act now covers more than 1,200 plants and animals, while 256 additional species are candidates for protection. Under the Bush administration, the number of new species listed annually has dropped drastically (and those that made the did so because courts ordered it). In response to industry lawsuits, the administration has also rescinded habitat protections for 29 species. The Clean Water Act has a simple mandate: make all U.S. waters safe for fishing and swimming. But 30 years after the law was passed, not even two-thirds of them meet the goal. Part of this is attributable to the daunting task of controlling pollution from industries and agriculture and from diffuse sources such as airborne toxics or urban runoff. But much blame can be laid at the feet of officials unwilling to enforce the law. For example, in 2003 the Bush administration proposed rule changes that could have removed Clean Water Act protections from millions of acres of isolated wetlands and streams. In December, it announced it was dropping the plan, but at press time "staff guidance" issued by the EPA that weakens wetlands protections remained in place. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulates mountaintop-removal mining (a technique that exposes coal seams by decapitating mountains and dumping the waste in valleys) but does not require extensive analysis of its environmental impacts, even though such mining has destroyed more than 700 miles of streams. Yet the Bush administration has proposed "streamlining" the review of mining permits, and has revised Clean Water Act rules to legalize the dumping of mountaintop debris. |
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