Only in Washington
Thursday, March 29th, 2007******************
Syntax: all the money collected at the church from sinners
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Source: http://www.wastenews.com/headlines2.html?id=1175108446
Once again, one agency of the federal government (EPA) sues another agency (DOE). So let’s see. If the suit stands, DOE’s appropriated budget will go down by $X while EPA’s goes up by $X (during one fiscal year anyway). So in practical terms (from the perspective of Joe Taxpayer), the following will occur:
1) The feds go to the treasury, make a withdrawal of $X from DOE’s “account” and then turn around and make of deposit of $X in EPA’s account (a zero sum game).
2) The feds go to the treasury a 2nd time and make another withdrawal. That’s the one to pay off off the legion of lawyers, law firms, accountants, assorted bureaucrats and administration employees involved in this charade. Most of this cost will have to be borne even if the suit fails.
3) DOE will attempt to make up the “shortfall” during the following fiscal year (demand more from the fed taxpayer).
4) EPA’s “surplus” will NOT be returned to the fed taxpayer.
Only in Washington can something absolutely ridiculous like this occur and everyone involved keeps a straight face.
– Smitty, 3-29-07
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EPA fines Energy Department over radioactive waste
March 28 — One arm of the federal government is ordering another to pay $1.1 million for violations that occurred during the cleanup of a site that previously helped developed atomic and nuclear weapons.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accused the Department of Energy of violating terms of a cleanup agreement at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The EPA has given the Energy Department 30 days to commit to environmental projects that could offset a portion of the penalty.
In a letter dated March 27, the EPA informed Energy officials they were responsible for more than $1.1 million in penalties because of several operational concerns at a landfill handling radioactive and hazardous waste from the former nuclear weapons site.
Personnel at the landfill, formally called the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, failed to perform weekly inspections for the presence of leachate and the proper functioning of leachate collection and removal systems during the latter half of 2006, according to the EPA. The accumulation of leachate on landfill liners must be minimized to reduce the risk of leaks, according to the agency.
In addition, compaction tests to assure the structural stability of waste disposed of in the landfill were not performed as required between June 2005 and January 2007, according to the EPA.
