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The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly floated a rule claiming authority to bypass the courts and unilaterally garnish paychecks of those accused of violating its rules, a power currently used by agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...
The EPA has been flexing its regulatory muscle under President Obama, collecting more fines each year and hitting individuals with costly penalties for violating environmental rules, including recently slapping a $75,000 fine on Wyoming homeowner Andy Johnson for building a pond on his rural property. Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...
Still, the rule would give the EPA sweeping authority to dictate how and whether Americans could dispute fines and penalties, even as the amount of EPA fines collected from individuals, businesses and local governments steadily increase. Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...
The amount of fines raked in by the agency has jumped from $96 million in 2009 to $252 million in 2012, a more than 160 percent increase, according to EPA annual reports. Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...
The EPA said it deemed the action as not a “significant regulatory action” and therefore not subject to review. Read more: www.washingtontimes.com...
wattsupwiththat.com...-112760
More on the story of the EPA being challenged as to its objectivity in its GHG endangerment findings.
Ashley Thorne, Executive Director, National Association of Scholars, writes in an email:
After the EPA stonewalled international trade lawyer Lawrence Kogan’s FOIA request, saying it was confused about what documents he wanted, Kogan wrote back with a 145-page document spelling out his exact request and pointing out potential smoking guns. My NAS colleague Rachelle DeJong breaks it down here:
Under the rule proposed last week, the EPA would be allowed to garnish up to 15 percent of the “disposable pay” of anybody with non-tax debt to the agency, such as fines for violating regulations. Thanks to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the agency does not need to obtain court permission before garnishing.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to amend EPA's claims collection standards to implement the administrative wage garnishment provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1982, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA). The direct final rule will allow the EPA to garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order.
Under the law, every federal agency has the authority to conduct administrative wage garnishment, provided the agency adopts approved rules for conducting hearings where debtors can challenge the amount of debt or terms of repayment schedule, a Treasury official said.