Double Standards Pollute EPA Enforcement

That’s the title of my Townhall oped on overcriminalization (a pervasive problem in environmental law) and EPA’s behavior in the wake of the Gold King spill. Here’s a taste:

“Treat others as you would like to be treated.”

Bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency could stand to be reminded of that maxim, in the continuing wake of last summer’s Gold King Mine disaster in Colorado, where a blundering EPA crew caused a toxic spill that fouled rivers in three states.

When it comes to enforcing the labyrinthine web of federal environmental laws and regulations against ordinary people, EPA is an unforgiving bureaucracy.  Yet, as a scathing new Capitol Hill report on the Gold King Mine debacle documents, the agency takes a completely different tact when its own actions are under the microscope: EPA’s unelected bureaucrats resist meaningful oversight and accountability.

You can read the rest here.