Miners in Chicken were surprised during late August by groups comprising four to eight armed EPA agents carrying Glock .40 S&W cal side arms in full battle rattle with signs in big letters loudly proclaiming POLICE who stormed into several mines near Chicken in a full out assault to . . . take water samples. The EPA gestapo, and that’s all one can term such a heavy handed goon squad were there to take water samples to see if the miners were in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Something in past years that was done by one or two unarmed State of Alaska DEC personnel along with a representative of the EPA without rancor.
If the situation were not so serious, and the threat to the miners so real, this could almost be laughed off as a joke. However, armed goons with .40 cal Glocks in full battle rattle are not a joke. This event marks a new level of federal oversight on Alaska’s federal lands. Lands which the management of were supposed to be the responsibility of the State of Alaska under the terms of Alaska’s Statehood Compact. This event is an outrage and sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future regulation activities by the various federal agencies in Alaska.
Why were they there?
In a conference call with State officials including members of Alaska’s congressional delegation, the EPA stated that they had received information from the Alaska State Troopers that there was rampant drug and human trafficking in . . . Chicken, Alaska. Now, that is funny.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski opined that the situation was made up to allow the EPA (and DEC) to act as they did.
The AST’s spokesperson Megan Peters basically denied the EPA’s allegations as to receiving any information from the Troopers regarding anything at Chicken.
Why was there no court involved to protect the miners, if the EPA felt armed force was justified?
A member of the Alaska DEC was along to intimidate the locals at Chicken. The DEC agent was also armed. Now, DEC personnel are armed?!
What is going on here, Governor Sean Parnell?
The only police agency that should have had any armed presence was the Alaska State Troopers. They have jurisdiction statewide. Why were no Troopers part of that armed affront to Alaska’s sovereignty?
Chicken, Alaska is a historic mining town off the Taylor Highway has a resident population of 17 that grows to several dozen seasonally with the mining season. The mines are accessible by road, making it easy for the federal wanna be cold stone killer infantry wanna be Gestapo goon squad. Had this been a "raid" conducted at off the road, remote mines, there is a likelihood that they would have been met with armed resistance, as many mines maintain arms for self-defense and predators–both two legged and four.
The Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force is made up of members of the Alaska State Troopers, the EPA, the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Only one mine checked had a water sample that "looked" over the particulate limit.
Where is Governor Parnell on this issue?
As with the Jim Wilde incident on the Yukon River in 2010, silent.
What next, armored personnel carriers and machine guns to make certain your garbage sack is tied?
Better watch out for the Apache gun ships and Predator drones with Hellfire missiles if your car is running a bit rich and there is any smoke out the tail pipe.
We need a governor who will stand up for Alaskans and Alaska against the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.
Sen. Begich certainly will certainly not act to curtail this danger to the citizens of Alaska.
Bill Walker is running for governor, and Mead Treadwell is running for the U.S. Senate. Maybe, they will work to protect Alaska’s sovereignty and Alaskans from a DC mentality that clearly believes in armed force rather than a rule of law and due process.
For more information:
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130903/gold-miners-near-chicken-cry-foul-over-heavy-handed-epa-raids
No comments:
Post a Comment