Legalectric

No surprise.  BUT, many issues not addressed, and many comments not registering, much less considered, it seems.  Minnesota Pollution Control Agency “reviewed” the Lab USA Environmental Assessment and Comments and determined that:

And the bottom line:

Here’s the full document, check it out:

Lab USA FOF (MPCA Final)

Note they do not address the Water Tank Mound, which comprises much of the Red Wing lay down yard site, and there is no acknowledgement, much less characterization or use in modeling, of the La Crosse incinerator ash that’s trucked in, and something like 50% of that is old railroad ties full of creosote.  Pretty toxic stuff, that creosote.

Something odd — if not for a little birdie, I’d not have known that this was issued, no service, no notice, nada. ???  Thank you, little birdie!!!

Each day it’s something.  In the beginning, it was a flurry of Executive Orders and Memoranda that were poorly thought out, worsely executed, even posted on White House website with different wording than what was actually signed — I know because I was tracking them closely as they were coming out and posting them and resulting court losses via Temporary Restraining Orders and decisions  here and here and here,  for example.

A friend was looking at how to frame this problem, and branded it “TrumpCo.”  TrumpCo is what’s developed from Trump’s claim that government should be run like a business, and his efforts to initiate that plan.  Just the facts about how tRump runs businesses (into the ground, fact check on that, yes, multiple bankruptcies) should give us pause, but deeper thought about the purpose and functions of government should stop this in its tracks.  Dream on… these guys are relentless.  Meanwhile, Republican #notmyPresident Donald Trump is putting his son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of ??(hard to tell, Senior White House Advisor, etc?), his daughter Ivanka installed in an office and requesting security clearance, and sons on US taxpayer business trips, WTF?

Son-in-law Jared Kushner has a large role in TrumpCo:

Reinventing government

The Office of American Innovation is expected to tackle domestic issues such as Veterans’ Affairs, workforce development and opioid addiction, the Associated Press reports.

“The government should be run like a great American company,” Kushner told the Washington Post of the initiative, one of the few interviews he has granted since becoming a senior adviser. “Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”

tRump signed a Memorandum pushing Keystone XL (and Dakota Access) pipeline inviting them to reapply, which they did two days later:

#notmyPresident – Keystone XL pipeline is baaaaaaaaack

And today, a Complaint has been filed by Northern Plains Resource Council, Bold alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club to stop KXL from going forward:

Complaint filed 2017 03 30 FINAL

The focus is on the extensive record of the earlier proceeding, the prior rejection of the Presidential Permit, NEPA violations, and the arbitrary and capricious nature of the Memorandum and moving forward with this project.  The specific claims are:

• Violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., and Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, by Defendants State Department and Under Secretary Shannon

• Violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., and Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, by Defendants Interior Department, Bureau of Land Management, and Secretary Zinke

• Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, by Defendants State Department and Under Secretary Shannon

The third claim is what I’d been noting after tRump issued the Memorandum.  With the lengthy and voluminous record, and the denial, to with the stroke of a pen say “go ahead,” that’s arbitrary and capricious on its face.  From the Complaint:

The State Department has failed to adequately explain and justify (a) its reversal of positions on whether Keystone XL is in the national interest, and (b) its reliance on a stale and inadequate environmental review. Its approval decision is arbitrary and capricious.

… and oh, what a good example that Memorandum is, itching for challenge.  Well, here it is.

Hot off the press from the Federal Appellate Court — Missouri Western District

Western-District-Appeal-Results

From the Order:

ATXI is an Illinois corporation authorized to do business in Missouri and engaged in the construction, ownership, and operation of interstate transmission lines that transmit electricity for the public use. It does not generate, distribute, or sell electricity to the general public or serve any retail service territory.

And the law is clear:

“If any of the items required under this rule are unavailable at the time the application is filed, they shall be furnished prior to the granting of the authority sought.”  4 CSR 240-3.105(2) (emphasis added).

And interpretation of the law:

The general language of section 393.170.3 authorizes the PSC to impose “reasonable and necessary” conditions on a CCN. However, the specific language of section 393.170.2 states that evidence of the county commission consents “shall” be on file before the PSC grants a CCN.  “Where one provision of a statute contains general language and another provision in the same statute contains more specific language, the general language should give way to the specific.” Id.

And bottom line?

The PSC’s Report and Order is vacated as it was entered in excess of the PSC’s statutory authority.

Love it when this happens!

How many investigations on Trump, his campaign, and his administration are now in the works?  Well, here’s another!

The Inspector General of Department of Health and Human Services has opened an investigation into Trump’s “decision to stop paid advertisements and temporarily suspend other outreach efforts directed at Marketplace enrollment in the final days of the 2016-2017 open enrollment season.”  What that means is that tRump stopped advertising and outreach for registration for Obamacare.

Here’s his letter acknowledging the investigation:

2017-3-23_HHS_IG_Letter_re_ACA_enrollment

When the Inspector General gets going, that’s something to take seriously.  There was no authorization to stop advertising, already paid by Obama administration, nor was there authorization to stop free social media/email notice to folks of the deadline.  The tail end of the open enrollment period is always when there are the most sign-ups, and reaching people in that time frame is crucial.  Failing to advertise, stopping outreach, works against filling the pool to spread the risk.  Some call that sabotage.  Yeah, that sounds apt.

One more thing to nail tRump and his administration on, it just keeps piling up.