[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 30 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E434-E435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HUMMINGBIRDS, LEAKY PLUMBING, AND WILDERNESS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 1997

  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. Speaker, hardly a day goes by without hearing about 
some outrageous ruling by a Federal agency that defies common sense and 
victimizes average citizens.
  Syndicated columnist and environmental scholar Dr. Alston Chase has 
an uncanny ability to uncover these bureaucratic excesses and explain 
them in plain English. One of his recent columns entitled 
``Hummingbirds and Other Prey of the EPA'' began by asking the 
following question. ``What do rescuing hummingbirds, owning leaky 
plumbing, getting lost in the wilderness, and smuggling refrigerator 
coolants have in common?''
  This column, which appeared in the February 28, 1997 edition of the 
Washington Times, cited specific horror stories involving how Federal 
agencies dealt with all these items. I urge my colleagues to read this 
well-written column by Dr. Alston Chase.

               [From the Washington Times, Feb. 28, 1997]

                   Hummingbirds and Other Prey of EPA

                           (By Alston Chase)

       Question: What do rescuing hummingbirds, owning leaky 
     plumbing, getting lost in the wilderness, and smuggling 
     refrigerator coolants have in common?
       Answer: They're all crimes against nature, punishable by 
     stiff fines or imprisonment or both. And if one federal 
     agency has its way, our jails may soon be filled with folks 
     who have committed equally harmless offenses.
       As to hummingbirds, last fall one of these creatures, 
     having summered around Billings, Mont., didn't migrate south 
     as it should have. Bad decision. Probably, it had been 
     surprised by the sudden cold snap that made that autumn the 
     second most frigid on record. Whatever the reason, a kindly 
     couple found the shivering bird and took it to Jill Herzog, 
     owner of a local bird store. Miss Herzog was making 
     arrangements to ship it south when officials of the U.S. fish 
     and Wildlife Service knocked at her door.
       Release the bird immediately, they told her, or pay a 
     $10,000 fine. So, release it she did. By this time it was 
     January, and outdoor temperatures hovered around 18 below 
     zero. End of hummingbird.
       As to the other criminals:
       In November, a New York court convicted Kent and Glenda 
     Druell of 164 counts of pollution. The couple, who are of 
     modest means, face $32.6 million in fines and 1,000 years in 
     prison. Their crime? Owning a leaky septic system. The case 
     is on appeal, as the state never adduced a shred of evidence 
     to show that this effluent was contaminating state waters, as 
     charged.
       In December, race car driver Bobby Unser got lost in a 
     blizzard when snowmobiling in Colorado. While trying to find 
     his way, he accidentally strayed a half-mile into federal 
     wilderness. For this offense, the U.S. Forest Service brought 
     charges against Mr. Unser that carry a $5,000 fine and a six-
     month prison term.
       Then, there's the case of the banned coolant. In January, 
     federal authorities brought charges against several people 
     and businesses for smuggling the refrigerant Freon into the 
     United States. Relying on what many scientists believe is a 
     flawed theory claiming this substance causes stratospheric 
     ozone depletion, the government forbids its manufacture or 
     import. Yet since millions of air conditioners cannot run 
     without it, prices are skyrocketing, which leads to 
     widespread smuggling.
       And lest you think that's the end of the matter, Freon 
     substitutes--so-called HCFCs--which are currently being 
     installed in new car air conditioners, are slated to be 
     banned by the year 2020, thus promising to generate another 
     lucrative illegal trade when supplies run out.
       Notice the pattern? Each year, the list of eco-crimes gets 
     longer. Each year, more erstwhile law-abiding behavior is 
     declared illegal. Each year, environmental agencies extend 
     their police powers. Each year, Americans lose a little more 
     liberty to laws that

[[Page E435]]

     don't protect plants and animals but do put people at risk.
       This process proceeds by such incremental steps that few 
     take notice. But it continues as you read this. Consider 
     regulations currently proposed by the Bureau of Land 
     Management:
       Two days after last November's general election, the bureau 
     published in the Federal Register rule changes for law 
     enforcement. These revisions are touted as merely stylistic, 
     as only rephrasings couched in ``plain English'' to help 
     ordinary citizens understand them. But actually, that's a 
     deception. Under the guise of simplifying law, the bureau is 
     pursuing vast extensions of its police powers.
       The proposed regulations would criminalize thousands of 
     minor offenses that previously were not deemed criminal. They 
     would give bureau police unparalleled authority of arrest, 
     search and seizure. They would extend federal enforcement to 
     surrounding private properties. They would raise the maximum 
     punishment for violations from $1,000 to $100,000 and 
     authorize bureau agents to enforce not only their own rules 
     but all other local, state and federal laws as well.
       And they redefine guilt. No longer would ignorance of the 
     law be an excuse. Instead, one could be declared criminally 
     responsible for breaking a rule few ever heard of.
       Thus, individuals could go to jail for violating ``any 
     regulation, authorization or order''--such as walking a dog 
     in a recreation area without a leash, not wearing a seat 
     belt, failing to display a state inspection sticker on one's 
     car or entering ``wilderness areas without a permit, where 
     permits are required by BLM.''
       The bureau has set a March 7 deadline for receiving public 
     comments on these provisions. And on March 20, the House 
     Subcommittee on Parks and Public Lands will hold hearings on 
     them.
       Let's hope Congress can stop this power grab. Otherwise, 
     those who hike in wilderness may discover the greatest 
     dangers they face are neither bad weather nor grizzly bears 
     but green police, and that their most essential survival tool 
     is neither tent nor cook stove but a copy of the Federal Code 
     of Regulations.

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