Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Trump's War on Earth Continues: Trump Administration Reverses Policy On Protecting Migrating Birds
http://wvtf.org/post/trump-administration-reverses-policy-protecting-migrating-birdsFor a century, most migrating birds in the United States have been protected under federal law. But the Trump administration has quietly changed that policy. Late last year, it reversed a key part of how the law is enforced. Earthfix reporter Courtney Flatt and Jes Burns have this story from Oregon.
. . . .
BURNS: There was also another reason. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the utility could be held criminally responsible for those bird deaths even though they didn't mean to kill them. The law has been used to hold the energy industry accountable - for example, as partial grounds for a $100 million settlement with BP for birds killed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But no longer.
The Interior Department announced it won't go after these accidental deaths, saying in a statement that doing so goes beyond the original intent of the 1918 law. The department declined an interview request. But the Trump administration has called the threat of prosecution a burden to domestic energy production and development. Dan Rohlf is an environmental law professor at Lewis and Clark College. He says the message to energy developers is clear.
DAN ROHLF: Your facilities are designed to do something else. They're not intended to kill birds. And so if they happen to kill birds, that's just the way it goes.
. . . .
BURNS: There was also another reason. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the utility could be held criminally responsible for those bird deaths even though they didn't mean to kill them. The law has been used to hold the energy industry accountable - for example, as partial grounds for a $100 million settlement with BP for birds killed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But no longer.
The Interior Department announced it won't go after these accidental deaths, saying in a statement that doing so goes beyond the original intent of the 1918 law. The department declined an interview request. But the Trump administration has called the threat of prosecution a burden to domestic energy production and development. Dan Rohlf is an environmental law professor at Lewis and Clark College. He says the message to energy developers is clear.
DAN ROHLF: Your facilities are designed to do something else. They're not intended to kill birds. And so if they happen to kill birds, that's just the way it goes.
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
