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SlothropRedux commented on the blog post Everybody Must Get Stoned
I’m sure Senator McConnell will be sure to enforce Leviticus 11:7-8 so that none o’ those hog farmers get any subsidies anymore. Because that would undoubtedly violate somebody’s religion.
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SlothropRedux commented on the blog post Keystone XL Pipeline Operator Paid for State Department Environmental Study
Bobster33 is correct. I’ll grant that nobody should feel comfortable with the idea of the proponent of a project paying for the environmental impact statement and hiring its own consultants. But feeling uncomfortable with it is different from there being anything legally or procedurally wrong with it. The conspiracy talk here is a bit disheartening – this procedure is, sadly, the norm.
This is the way the environmental impact assessment process is designed to work. Not just with the State Dept., but with ALL federal agencies. As much as we might deplore this, it is neither illegal, inappropriate, or uncommon. This is the way the law is written. The proponent hires and pays for the consultant that reviews the impact statement. The reviewing agency is responsible for ensuring that the EIA meets the requirements of the law. It would be highly unusual for the government to pay for an environmental impact assessment.
So if you don’t like this, you should get your legislators to change the law (for example, having the project proponent pay, but the government pick the EIA analysts from a list of competent consultants). But don’t claim that this is some special form of special treatment. It is ABSOLUTELY the norm.
