Feds Propose $3 Million Fine for Massive Fish Kill

Feds Propose $3 Million Fine for Massive Fish Kill

www.newsmax.com

The federal government is proposing nearly $3 million in fines against the city of Birmingham, Ala., over an incident that officials say was one of the largest fish kills in the history of the Endangered Species Act.

The penalty, proposed Thursday, stems from a 2008 accident in which a city maintenance crew breached a dam and drained a spring pool containing one of the world's largest populations of the small, endangered watercress darter. Scientists estimated that 12,000 were killed, more than half of the pool's population of about 20,000.

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Say what? Are they kidding us? So, the government wants to fine the city of Birmingham, Alabama and ultimately the citizens of that city, for a few fish killed by a dam, yet BP has probably killed more fish and mammals than any other corporation in recent history (possibly ever) and is getting away with it.

I'm all for protecting wildlife, spring pools and other aspects of nature but this seems ridiculous in the context of what's happening in the Gulf and the relative ease that BP is finding with the government. This just seems all wrong, IMO. If they want to fine someone, then fine BP.

Now, I know that just because BP has caused so much damage, doesn't mean that we can look the other way with the actions of others but it still seems silly when you compare it to the government's handling of the oil spill.

--airspoon


www.newsmax.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I swear... if this dint look like the govt acting like a bully, I dunno what does. May I suggest Birmingham pay them in.... oil? About 5000 gallons of seawater mixed with oil should do the job.

reply to post by wylekat


Your right, they should pay them with oil, although the government would probably take the oil and pay BP for it with tax-payer money, then comeback to Birmingham and fine them for taking BP's oil.

--airspoon

Wow! That's a big fine!

I guess I would not want to see them fined if crew leader Beavis told Butthead to pull the plug. A few dummies making a mistake.

If the pond was marked, and the city ordered the draining, then let the dollars hit the floor.

If some group was aware of this rare fish and did nothing to protect the pond, then there should be no fine.

Who decides these amounts? I would have to value them as 12,000 X the cost of a minnow.

No offence to the southerners (bites tongue)

reply to post by airspoon


BP is paying out of their ass to everyone, look up payments by BP for damages by oil leek. Also if a city worker, idiotically, killed 12,000 precious fish he should be fired and the city should be sued. This happened far before the oil leek in 2008 so the wheels of justice must've been turning since then. I admit BP has to pay out ALOT more money but to say these people should be above the law in their mistake is madness.

where do I sign?

BP should be fined than 3000000000000000000000$

Originally posted by airspoon
If they want to fine someone, then fine BP.

Of course they should fine BP, but why not fine Birmingham also?

I wonder if it could be more than a fine for BP, their company rep on the rig refused to testify on the grounds he might incriminate himself, so I wonder if he's worried about going to jail?

I don't know if the fine needs to be $3 million but Birmingham should be fined.

BP probably needs to be fined 950 million dollars or so.

S&F! This may seem like small potatoes to some but it's a great example of government bullying townships. If this passes there's no limit to the hen-pecking of cities that will commence in order to fill government coffers. Whoever drafted this measure should be voted out of office.

What's wrong with this picture? Our govt. can declare 'war on terror' and charge into innocent countries and kill innocent civilians and feel justified but don't anyone dare harm one gotdam fish by accident or other or else!

[edit on 25-6-2010 by KrispyB]