At least you're not pushing the same silly argument as Bruce. For bridge design, the cost of CEQA and NEPA compliance is very costly. It often rivals or exceeds design costs. It's also very time consuming and can take up to 18 months to complete before the full design effort begins.
And that's just on the public side. There are similar time and dollar costs imposed on the private sector. If you screw up those environmental docs, you get to start the process all over again. There's a reason there weren't as many "shovel ready" jobs as Obama sold to the American public. Many of them have yet to clear the environmental process. Yet Bruce wants to pretend the EPA doesn't impose any costs. Tell that to the XL pipeline folks. Or oil companies in the Gulf. Or me, who can't get a permit to build a home because the environmental bureaucrats think they know better. They prefer I cut 25 large Douglas fir trees than transplant a few hundred "rare" sedge plants that are neither rare nor threatened. They prefer I confine development to 0.1 of an acre although I have 7.1 acres. They prefer a massive tree take to utilizing an existing creek crossing to protect a "wetland." They prefer I spend another $10K drill another well because the one I drilled 3 years ago is now in a "wetland" because of overflow from that well. They prefer I spend another $6K on a botanical report to tell us what we already know (we have habitat for red legged frogs, red tree voles, spotted owls. They prefer I spend another $20K - $30K on surveys to establish the precise location of a poorly defined boundary line, despite warnings from local surveyors that the line cannot be established with certainty without a court order. And despite the fact that its location is irrelevant in my preferred alternative, which is also the least impactful of all the alternatives considered. I spent years studying my property and local planning and environmental protection requirements. I spent years developing a design that minimizes my footprint and protects natural resources. When I do manage to get state or local officials out for a site inspection they end up agreeing that my proposed development is the least harmful, especially after showing them the 180-acres across the street in which everything was razed but redwood trees. Then the personnel change and I have to start all over with someone new. All this to build a home on a property zoned for that use. I'm quite knowledgable of the process. Imagine the effect it has on a layman that simply wants to build their dream home. It's absolutely terrible what some folks are put through by the local planners or the state Coastal Commission, or both. They apply the rules inconsistently. They've fostered the belief that it's better to seek forgiveness than permission, which is proving far more harmful to coastal resources than their environmental purity and absolutism. These state and local bureaucrats wield too much power and they've essentially stifled development along the coast, even development that is consistent with the Coastal Act. Bruce is confidently ignorant of those costs. On Sep 8, 2012, at 5:54 PM, M Christol wrote: > yay > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REp-3KdVmkM > > > On 9/8/12 8:16 PM, Francis Drouillard wrote: >> Sure. Right after you provide "credible" evidence that regulatory burdens >> don't have any cost impact. >> >> >> On Sep 8, 2012, at 1:59 PM, Bruce Johnson wrote: >> >>> On Sep 8, 2012, at 7:41 AM, Francis Drouillard wrote: >>> >>>> On Sep 7, 2012, at 8:53 PM, Bruce Johnson wrote: >>>> >>>>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/why-more-drilling-wont-lower-gas-prices/2012/03/01/gIQALNBtkR_blog.html> >>>>> >>>>> Gee, it's almost as if there's an industry out there that wants to get >>>>> Republicans elected... >>>> Actually, it just wants to rein in the Obama EPA -- the Employment >>>> Prevention Agency. >>> >>> I'm going to call your bluff: >>> >>> Please point to credible evidence that the EPA has caused widespread job >>> losses. >>> >>> -- >>> Bruce Johnson >>> >>> "Wherever you go, there you are" B. Banzai, PhD -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/stratalist-ot?hl=en.
