The Research Triangle is loaded with the stuff in the groundwater.

@Don

This chemical is NOT new. Dry cleaners have been fined for years because of illegal disposal. But try and go after any company or in this case the moron that was cleaning circuit boards for the gold and silver and you can't touch them. Even if the EPA KNOWS who dumped the chemical, they will do little if anything to go after the business.

This all comes down to Republicans need for LESS Government and MORE power for Corporations to KILL people with NO liability.

This story is just a microcosm of the over all problems with toxic chemicals in our environment. Now you know why big business wants to kill the EPA. It's NOT jobs, it's being allowed to pollute the environment for CASH!!!

A VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS IS A VOTE TO KILL YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY. I hope you can live, or in this case, die with your decision.

Damned straight colormepurple!!!! The sad thing is people are too stupid and will vote republican anyway and then cry about all the problems they cause later and wonder why it happened.

North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources was responding the way republicans, for years, respond to contamination.... If ya ain't dead, ya ain't dead. So what ?!

Thank goodness, a Democrat governor finally brought in the EPA !!!!!!!!!!!

The EPA that Republicans want to disband because of too much regulation against corporations.

And people wonder why the EPA says they had more pressing matters...Take a look for yourself. How many of these sites were caused by John Q. Public??? But TRUST the Multinationals and Corporations to do the right thing...LOLLOLLOLLOL

List of Superfund sites in the United States

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/nplmapsg.htm

This may be easer for some to view. And remember it has to be VERY BAD to become a Superfund site. And WHO do you think is paying for most all of these sites??? That's right WE THE PEOPLE!!!

And look back at when the environmental laws were changed and gutted... That's right Ray-Gun, H.W. Bush and good old Shrub Bush. And you folks really want LESS oversight??? Ask yourself WHY is the largest Chemical producers (Koch Brothers) in the U.S. giving $Millions to get Republicans in power? Answer: LESS Liability and LESS oversight.

Left this off my last post. Hope none of these are in your neighborhood.

SUPERFUND SITES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_the_United_States

First, I apologize for my rant this morning. This strikes a nerve close to home.This isn't about the Right or Left doing away with regulations or not. It's about those who have the assigned job, just DOING their jobs.And that is taking responsibility. It's easy to want to blame one party or the other, grouping everyone on this side or the other as the baddies or goodies. The shameful truth is there are lots of folks on both sides of the chain of command who failed these good folks. I can understand this all too well from personal experience.

When I bought my first home, built in 1856, it was near the world's largest open mine pit which was next to a creek used for mining 1846. Well, it turns out the creek water was diverted for flood irrigation and water for a small town nearby. But eventually it was contaminated by that mine with heavy metals and poisons like arsenic over the century and half of being in use. And the mine owners knew it too.

After the ore and other precious metals were remove, the resulting material was dumped off to the side, forming literally new mountains the deeper the mine dug into removing the mountains. Rainwater would then leech toxic chemicals and heavy metals out of the new mountain and into the creek and ground. That would spread from the irrigation system into the topsoil, well water, and even into the food eaten. The company knew this but didn't act on it. It would cost a fortune to clean it up.

The FDA was fighting to get them to clean it up, while their lawyers were suing to prevent it.With the County and State also in litigation.Tossing in the jobs and income it was bringing into the state it was a royal mess.By the time the FDA finally notified our city, we were on the highest priority list possible for cleanup.Still we had to wait for funding two years.With people buying their water for practically everything now.People were furious to learn the government knew for at least a decade and sat on it. Waiting for contracts. Only when the town incorporated was something finally done.

Too late for the high rate of cancers and other diseases affecting residents. Thankfully I had just move there the year before. tests were done to all properties in multiple places, with top soil up to seven feet deep being removed and shipped for burial. All trees being removed on some places and new soil brought in.However, not the right kind. It also all depended on how much one flood irrigated their land and where. If you refused to have your property tested, you would have to pay for it if you ever sold your land. Then would have to pay for your soil to be removed if it needed to.Landscape which had taken 100 years to grow, was ripped out, you were left with nothing but dirt. And nothing ended up growing for years later on what was dumped back. It cost owners in some cases tens of thousands of dollars to re landscape, including removing the new cheap soil.

Even the town wells had to be shut down because the water table was affected.With water under ground being forced upwards and new purified water forced downwards at the same time in different locations. And this continues to this day. It will take decades to eliminate the damage to the aquifer system. Folks lost massive orchards, farmers lost abilities to dry farm when salty soil was trucked in. While thousands of trees planted to replace those lost died, due to the high salt concentrations. It has been a disaster for most folks while changing the whole face of the community forever. This doesn't even count the number of children who have died from cancer and other diseases or adults over the years.Watching people, friends, loved ones struggle is a terrible thing. Especially when you know they didn't have to. Because a company just wanted to save money and make profits.

But then because the company wasn't checked on by numerous different agencies from County, State and Federal, our community paid an additional price, families, friends , children paid the price. Even wildlife paid the price. It will be decades before we ever recover. It isn't a simple matter of which political party caring less, but lots of folks passing the job onto someone else to followup on in many different places. Because they were busy caring about bigger stuff at the time. We were just a small community, so why bother? The mining company was so big, they were going to get around to running those tests, but decades passes eventually.

Can I appreciate this community and how they feel? You bet.Let's not get caught up in politics and thinking it's about them or us, which side it is. It's about everyone being responsible and knowing what is happening in their neighborhood and communities in the short haul and long haul.Something so easy as checking to see what the planning commission has in store is an easy thing to do. See what the natural resources are in your area. Learning what is happening down the road, so we aren't left to the whims of fate, or someones carelessness. You can even get kits to check your drinking water. So we don't take things for granted that our children are exposed to. Even at the public pool. Stay informed anyway we can and think ahead, if something happened, what would you need. Be proactive. We can't prevent all negative things from happening to us, but it's a start.

colormepurple,

"This all comes down to Republicans need for LESS Government and MORE power for Corporations to KILL people with NO liability."

And yet N. Carolina is expected to vote for Romney. So who can say they don't get what they ask for?

And the chemical companies will tell you that their products are perfectly safe in any environment.......

The Carolinas have had more than their share of polluted places because big business has found those areas conducive to their needs and they really didn't give a crap where their chemical run-offs went or what they did to the residents of those places.....

The EPA is one of the first agencies to experience cuts under a Republican administration. It is considered one of the major job killers.

Regulations? We don't need no stinking regulations" said the bandidos. (Treasure of Sierra Madre)‏

fyte -

That's because instead of enforcing the regulations on the books, they come up with more regulations that won't be followed anyway.

What many do not or wish not to realize is that enforcement has to happen, otherwise the regulation are just so many pieces of paper.

Do I think we need regulation, yes, but it needs to be sensible and enforceable. Otherwise it is just a wast of time and taxpayer monies.

It's a crying shame when "our" officials think that "other things" are important than the lives of the American people. For 10 yrs. these people had to drink poison and they knew about for the same amount of yrs. What's wrong with this picture? Should someone be fired? Definitely so!

that sucks, i'm from n.c.! ahhhhhh, roarrrr, roarrrrr, roarrrrr, ahhhhh mutant genes, rarrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

these people our insulting those people's intelligence when they say they didnt have time or funding..you type a piece of paper with problem,address,stamp,then mail...that does not need funding(what r stamps now?c40?) and the time is frivolous ...these people sat on their a$$es and did not do their job and are now hiding behind funding as their excuse...I would expect my gov to protect me or is it just not kool enough like dropping a bomb on bad people

First of all, to all the people whining about republicans cutting the EPA budget so they couldn't do their job...READ THE ARTICLE. The EPA did their job. The problem is when the EPA handed the issue off to the North Carolina authorities to deal with it, the North Carolina agency completely screwed the pooch. Quit with the hysterics...the feds did what they were supposed to do.

Second, this is COMPLETELY an issue of mismanagement at the state level by individuals, not political parties. The person(s) who failed to exercise their duties to protect the public health and safety should be charged with criminal negligence, manslaughter and whatever charges appropriate due to the effects on the public health due to their negligence.

Third, this was probably an individual being a jackhole....NOT A GREEDY CORPORATION...and that individual or group of individuals needs to never see the outside of a prison again.

Put the blame where it belongs and quit trying to make it political...it only makes you look hysterical.

Remember the capitalist mantra:

"Privatize profits, socialize losses"

Always, follow the money.

So the GOP Tea Party wants to get rid of agencies like the EPA, the FDA, and Obamacare and eliminate regulatory oversight on industries.

If the right-wing had it their way, years from now, maybe sooner, good luck on getting health care to treat your body's metastasizing cancers, as well as treating leukemia in your young children as well as mutating or killing off developing fetuses in the womb.

Actually, under a President Romney there will no longer BE an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as we know it. It is one of the numerous Federal Agencies that Mr. Romney has vowed to gut or eliminate.

Good luck EVER learning of environmental hazards to your health in a Romney Administration until you are already sick. Oh, and there will be no help for you then either, because "Obamacare" will have been repealed "on day one" (in Mr. Romney's own words); and once you are already sick your pre-existing condition security will be gone along with your Medicare. Good luck getting help then with that vocher check you get in the mail.

Considering Mr. Romney's unconditional support for what is the greatest new threat of ground water contamination, "fracking", it is only a matter of time before the problems these folks are facing will be coming to a neighborhood near you; maybe your neighborhood. But you will probably never find out what the Natural Gas exploration companies are pumping into the ground which is making YOU sick, because they are successfully fighting in the courts, with strong Republican Congressional support, to keep secret the contents of that witch's brew of chemicals.

And there will no longer be an EPA in your corner as your advocate. Only business interests will have the ear and support of a Romney Administration. We the People are only needed as disposable fuel for corporate profits, in the America of Mr. Romney. We are just fodder to keep the corporate "fat cats" fed!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82097.html

http://factcheck.org/2012/04/romney-misfires-with-epa-anecdote/

http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/romney-goes-after-obama-on-fracking-20120405

Lee wrote: "North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources was responding the way republicans, for years, respond to contamination.... If ya ain't dead, ya ain't dead. So what ?!

Thank goodness, a Democrat governor finally brought in the EPA !!!!!!!!!!!

The EPA that Republicans want to disband because of too much regulation against corporations"

Dear Lee, you appear to be unaware of facts. North Carolina has only had 2 Republican governors since 1901, the last leaving office in 1993. The democrats controlled the state legislature since the end of Reconstruction until 2010. 10 years ago when the ground was contaminated, Democrats controlled both houses and Democrat Mike Easley was the executive. 2005 when DENR moved on, the same group of Dems was in control. In 2008 when the DENR was admiting to their mistakes and that the contamination wasn't defined (but they didn't warn people), the same group of Dems was in charge. The only change has been that Republicans now control the legislature and these folks have been alerted to the danger that they lived with for a decade under Democrat control. Facts, sir. Just facts.

"DENR admits those warning sat in their files for years because they were focused on "bigger issues.""

My reaction: What the F??? How hard would it have been to drive from door to door for 1 day...in a small town like that it would have been EASY to notify everyone. My ass they had more pressing matters for 5 years, this was a BLATANT cover-up and the families deserve to get MILLIONS out of it...

The water at Camp Lejeune N.C. was toxic for years and the U.S. Marine Corps denied it.

I hope these good people band together and file a class action lawsuit against the State of North Carolina for hundreds of millions of dollars. This is absolutely unconscionable. Knowing that there is poison in the ground and drinking water and doing NOTHING about it. No warning residents - shameful and unacceptable. Whatever bureaucrat is ultimately responsible should be fired and stripped of their government pension. Then, maybe, government workers will "get" the concept that they work for US.

This is on par with the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed where we were sending our wounded military for recovery and rehab; a place falling down, infested with rats, not working plumbing, moldy, mildewed and collapsing walls. For the largess of our military budget, I cannot find one acceptable reason that Walter Reed Hospital was not properly maintained. No one I know believes this is how our wounded military should be treated.

Goosness, I feel terrible for those people and their children. That chemical they have been drinking for years is just one of the worst things ever. Truly a witches brew! The EPA should do the right thing now and pay for these people to get the appropriate medical testing they will need for as long as it takes. Had they done the right thing in the first place, I'm sure those people who bought homes in that area after the contamination was known about would have avoided that place like the plague it is. It is imperative to have the children get the appropriate medical tests as soon as possible. As for Jesneck, it would have been better to just make as brief a statement as possible and then work on helping those homeowners because what she did say, in light of the facts, was highly inappropriate, uncaring and made her seem like the back end of a donkey!

The military is exempt from environmental issues they have caused, nor are they mandated to report it.

Considering the amount of bombs and weapons they have expended and left during their training maneuvers, it's unimaginable what they've done to our land and sea.

It's understandable they need somewhere to practice, but just like using the restroom, we all have to clean up after ourselves.

Jesneck said, “We have a finite number of resources.”

Bull@!$%#. Unless his phone was disconnected, all he had to do was pick it up, call people until everyone was notified. That's not too hard. And if it took all night? So be it.

The EPA will just fine them...no one will actually be punished...and those who use this as an opportunity to bitch about politics, get off it...this has nothing to do with how you hate one or the other...

This plot reminds me of an old John Travolta flick. Same story different day. This is the barest tip of the pollution ice berg. If we knew half, merely half, we would not be able to sleep at night.

Reduce, reuse and recycle. Plant a garden. Take care of yourself as much as you are able to. Eat healthy, low on the food chain, get exercise, ride a bike, all simple things but as we accomplish the simple things the more complicated ones will be easier to address.

I sincerely hope our species can figure out how to live on this speck of dirt we call home before we cause our own extinction and take other species with us as we go down.

I can tell you it's not just NC or Republicans. Several years ago, I did some contract work for a city in LA county in CA. It was for the water district. All of the water tanks in the city were so contaminated that if the water in a tank dropped below 50% the toxicity would exceed federal standards. The water district decided it was simply cheaper to keep the tanks filled then clean them. If there were ever an emergency that prevented them from filling the tanks the drinking water would become dangerously toxic in about a day.

Even with the tanks full, the water just barely met federal drinking water standards.

So, having knowledge that people and their children were being POISONED and nothing was done, or even addressed about it for years, because it wasn't a "high priority"??? I would really like to know what DENR considers "high priority". And then they ASK people if they would like to have their wells tested and not insist on it? How many more times are they going to insult these people?

These people have every right to be outraged! Somebody really dropped the ball on this one. I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but it sounds like Erin Brokovich (not sure I spelled that right) needs to come down to NC and jerk a knot in somebodies ass! Even then, damage has already surely been done. What could they possibly do to make things right when a child gets sick? Nothing could make that right! This burns me up! I'm from SC, not very far from where this is going on. I would be absolutely terrified to hear that I have been poisoning myself, my children for years. My oldest daughter drinks nothing but water, from our tap. This is scary. It really makes me wonder what else is being kept from innocent people because somebody is not doing their job. Yeah, I'm aware that's probably a moronic statement I just made. Ofcourse things are being kept from us. CYA, that's what it's all about these days!

Outrageous. They had the knowledge that that land could be or become contaminated and allowed people to build houses and move their children in. How do they ever begin to compensate for these people if/when someone gets sick? And it sounds like people have already gotten ill and maybe even died because of it. Absolutely unforgivable.

These people need to get on high doses of turmeric STAT!!

Remember, Mittwit Robme thinks regulations that make corporations dispose of toxic waste properly are a block to small business. He wants to deregulate this kind of thing making it ok for corporations to contaminate soil and ground water. Also wants to enact legislation protecting them from later lawsuits for health issue, loss of life and poluting the environment.

Vote a straight Democratic ticket to help avoid these issues. republitards don't care wha tthe future is, except one fiscal quarter at a time.

So, let me see if I get this right... in 2005 the EPA was actually working on this... in 2008 it was put on the side for "higher priorities"....

Serious disconnect with the Political POV's.. considering this would have overlapped. Oh wait, the EPA has it's OWN Administration and they chose to set it as a lower priority.

Sounds more like business than politics... so give it a rest. Obviously this was done by someone working out of his home, not some major corporation... Large Corporations actually pay to monitor, and DEQ and EPA make sure larger operations have safeguards in place...

Fact is, there are SO many chiefs, drawing huge salaries, pushing paper... and that is the government waste that needs to go.

As it stands, there are multi government agencies and funded contractors handling the same tasks, each with their own red tape, their own management and their own lofty PERS. They are getting major benefits as well... and for doing what? Passing the buck and making the health of a known contamination a lower priority.

Obviously, neither party even knew about this health hazard either, since no attempts to address by either party was ever made... and their is Environmental Committees in both houses of Congress, with equal members of both parties.

Too bad healthcare insurance and medical treatments are so expensive. This kind of pollution has layers of damage that costs big time. No one has jobs because those corporation are moving into China, who has the biggest pollution problem on the planet. And property rights, what good is it to purchase a home site if it is deadly dangerous from pollution. Who pays, we all do. Whether people admit it or not it is a political issue. It's an issue we all need to deal with and face. Those thinking glad I am not in NC, well fear is likely needed anyways as this type of thing is not limited to NC. And to think that republicans do not have a part in this is ridiculous, though I'm sure both parties have a part. But this is on par for what we all are dealing with and not just in pollution. Laws passed are no good if they are not enforced. That includes all corporations/lobbyists that are passing the laws that allow them to get federal refunds instead of paying taxes after they make huge profits. At this time every thing is a political issue. If the food we are eating is making us sick. If the water we are drinking is causing us harm. If the businesses that should be paying taxes and don't our politics needs to be overhauled big time. So much for profits when we all get to pay out the ass before dying because someone make a profit to kill us. Don't tell me it isn't a political issue.

terrorist's hard at work!

HOW MANY EXAMPLES DO PEOPLE NEED? When there is a choice between PROFIT and SAFTEY, profit wins every time. When we allow people to keep large sums of money and get "rewarded" for it WE ENCOURAGE THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOUR. Take away the reward and people would do the "right" thing instead of the more profitable thing. SIMPLE F***ING LOGIC.

When this country had a 90%-70% top tax rate and we were against commies (1940-1982) there was something to control or limit how much a person could acquire. They we forced to share their good fortune/blessing with others AND they got to share in other people's blessings. How many new products were introduced during that time? How did businesses manage to survive and thrive with taxes at such a high rate? Why has small business been on the decline ever since the top tax rate was lower down from 70%? Why has the worker to CEO wage gap gone up from 25 to 1 to over 1000 to 1 during that same period of time?

A high tax rate played a role just like friction does and that is to limit things so they do not break the system. It also encourages systems to form. WITHOUT friction why would a solar system form? Life as we know it would not exist without FRICTION. Our government would not exist without taxes. It needs to be harder to make MORE money once you get a bunch of it NOT EASIER. If it is easier to make more money the more money you have. You enter into a condition that is called "RUNAWAY". Shortly after runaway occurs something breaks or blows up.

I can only explain it so many ways, and cannot understand why everyone does not get it. In order for one person to make more they have to take it from others. In order to have winners you must have losers. There will always be a ratio between the two groups. The more the rich group has the less the poor group can have. For one person/group to be able to make 1000 to 1 ratios they need 999 people to give up 50% of what they make. Only 0.1% of the population or 1 in a 1000 can ever make that amount on average due to MATH. If the ratio was limited to 10 to 1 then 10% of the population can "win" or 1 out of every 10 people. What system provides the better opportunity to the masses? Why are taxes such a bad thing again?

Rich people will do what they always do b****, moan, and complain. They will still not want to pay their taxes which encourages them to pay the people that actually made them the money or to reinvest into the company that made them money WITHOUT NEEEDING TO BE REWARDED FOR IT. They already got rewarded in the first place they do not need to get rewarded again and again. They have to work and earn a living to. Not like they are just going to sit on their a$$ and die. Who are you trying to B.S.? Why are you going to vote for someone that wants to lower taxes on the rich again? Will that let the rich become richer or poorer? What has to happen for our economy to turn around? Simple math says the rich have to give up some of those ill-gotten gains they have managed to acquire over the past 30 years or so, or ELSE THE ECONOMY WILL NEVER WORK. It always runs out of money. High taxes put more money back into the system year after year even when wasted. It reduces the amount of inflation.

I think the responsible party should pay for any related or suspected health issues. Do you think the health insurers want to pay? Actually, the health insurers should pool their resources and sue them. If anyone deserves it they do, for crying out loud, would they care if it was their own families?

It's just a little preview of what can be expected in Romney and Ryan's America. Tsk tsk, all those pesky job killing regulations. The funding alone for an effective EPA would be beyond what they would be able to spend because as Ryan said, "We had to have priorities." (As in funding for embassies overseas.)

But don't worry about it, Romney and Ryan don't have a drinking water problem, that's only a problem for the "little people."

In the face of facts on the ground and poison in the ground, the illiterate nomore, who laughs at himself, advocates republickers. It's hard to beat stupidity like this.

On the other hand, if business ran the country as the GOPiggies want, there'd be a lot more poison in the water, a lot more people would die a lot faster and we'd find out about it sooner. Always look on the bright side.

Neo-Fascism for America! Romney 1040!!

Deny all you want. Where's that loud mouthed governor now???? Kissing butt to the corporations, that's where she is. You don't hear a peep out of the Republicans when it comes to something like this.

“I’m furious,” homeowner Stonefield said. “I’m very upset about it. That’s the biggest problem I’ve had with this whole situation is the state knew about it in 2005. We bought this land in 2007 and built a house on it in 2008 and our kids have been drinking the water for over 4 years now and no one notified us there was even the possibility that the water could be contaminated.”

well, way i see it s, it failed from the start with regulations, to begin with the DENR. so Bush's clowns were aware of the problem, but when this guy built his house, and put in a WELL, they also do water, soil samples. another big FAIL. done before, as well after in some cases.

so for 4 yrs, you cam blame the dems, or just fall back on local officials. but in reality, DENR dropped the ball, picked it up, and handed it to the other team and watched them run it in.

colormepurple: As I just said in another post, there is nothing mystical or magical about someone being from the Federal Government. The states are perfectly capable of managing these situations. They have, or can get, environmental people every bit as capable as anyone from the Federal Government.

Given the royal screw up of the EPA in this situation, you would think that's who would be getting the blame. But no, in liberal la la land liberals are bending over backwards to defend the EPA and assign them no responsibility at all. That's how delusional liberals have become.

And if you don't think Mitt Romney is getting the blame by proxy, all one had to do is scroll back and read all of the "if Mitt Romney was president" gibberish.

Getting rid of the EPA does NOT mean that you want contaminated air or water. That is a total lie of the liberal left. I want the states to take care of the problem because that is who should be doing it to begin with.

Wonderful, you guys turned this into a political rant...

“Our home is about a mile away from that location.”

I have to admit, that is an awful lot of circuit boards being cleaned and dumped.

We bought this land in 2007 and built a house on it in 2008 and our kids have been drinking the water for over 4 years now and no one notified us there was even the possibility that the water could be contaminated.”

You are supposed to test your well water shortly after having it made. So you didn't bother to test it, despite the fact you can get it tested at any time, just ask any respectable well digger.

I'm sorry for your family. I betcha you'll be testing your well in the future now though.

"The problem dates back to 10 years ago, where circuit boards were cleaned with the toxin inside a shed on Stony Hill Road in Wake Forest. The TCE exited the building through a pipe and poured straight onto the ground. About three years later, the chemical showed up in a well at the house next door."

Has anyone ever watched the 1996 movie "A Civil Action" staring John Travolta? That whole movie deals with TCE being poured into the ground which caused a whole town to experience various cancers and deceases. So don't be saying that in 2002 when this facility was pouring TCE into the ground that they did not know what the consequences would be. I say take every dime this company has made and every dime from all who profited from that company and give it to all the citizens who have been drinking this tainted water so a few could profit. Then make those wealthy "elite" drink this same water for the next 10 years.

@Don

People knew. No one enforced the law

.

Maybe it's time for you americans to start caring about REAL IMPORTANT ISSUES !!! Your food supply is totally unsafe, laced with pesticides, hormones, fungicides, herbecides, antibiotics and you eat genetically modified food that are truely dangerous to your health. When are you and your politicians start talking about these real important issues ?? There are over 600 toxic sites all over the usa !!!!! It has contaminated your aquifers and millions of you are drinking poison water !

It baffles me that you all go up arms in the air about stupid issues like abortion, gay mariage, prayers in school or other truely stupid issues that do not affect your health and lives ! What is wrong with you, people ?? Don't you have any common sense ?

So we need yet another example of how Three Mile Island and the Ford Pinto (where managers and workers knew the damage would be done to lives and allowed it anyway based on cost effectiveness), is needed? Whether it's with the EPA, Ford Motor Company, Toyota, or baby items (cribs, walkers, car seats, other items), when a company releases items they know are flawed, the company should be responsible for damage - not the seller and not the purchaser. This includes companies allowing runoff into our water and into our soil.

Have we become such a nation of people that sit behind computers saying, "Such a shame" or "Sorry for your loss" and then do nothing about it? Yes, the EPA is the regulator of this and if they have no power to govern, their power does nothing. If Wrongney is elected, the EPA and all power they have, will be eliminated. This we know for certain. The group will be cut substantially. Wrongney is for business regardless of the effect on our land (and resulting effect on the people and animals living on the land). While I personally believe in Environmental Review for all projects, I do understand that some projects may need to pass this by for. Again, it bothers me but I am willing to fore-go it for certain projects.

Regrettably, I see with a Wrongney presidency, there will be no environmental review based on his personal preferences and the fact that he is pro-business. As we have seen time and again, this causes permanent damage to our environment. Can we afford a president who lies for convenience, tells voters only what they want to hear (at that time), has absolute disdain for 47% of the voters, has a kinship for 1% of the voters (and we have no idea how he feels for the "unnamed 52% - so far he has ignored them), clearly feels repulsion for women - he could feel no other way based on what he says about women and what he has said in support of Mourdock; he feels women are not entitled to own their own bodies and should not control who we have sex with (how could he when we cannot obtain birth control or abortions?), lastly he abhors all males who are not heterosexuals - what does that say about his one (perhaps two) sons that are homosexuals and have not been able to admit it to their father and mother? What a sad life they must lead, all those years hidden from their parents living a lie, forced to marry a woman just to please the parents. Forced to have a "wife" endure IVF just to live up to status quo in a mormon culture, and endure a life of a lie. Wait, I get it now...it's all so clear. Dad life a life of telling lies to the public, so it's an easy role model to life a lie as a heterosexual. So clear now.

Why didn't Wrongney instill in his children the right to live their lives as they are? If Wrongney gets into office, our women, our GLBT's, our rights for everyone are pushed back 50 years. We just cannot allow it.

Obama/Biden 2012

Since this is an "upscale" neighborhood, you would think the majority of residents were college graduates, who would test their wells periodically and consider using whole house water filtration systems for their safety. I do think the government should have sent our mailers in 2008 reminding people to test their wells, since people who depend on water seem to forget that.

As far as class action suits go the ONLY ones who benefit from those are the attorneys, who generally make millions. If anyone thinks their health has suffered, and need funds to pay for their healthcare, I suggest you file individually.

TCE is a chemical that cleaning industries have used for years to remove grease. It is cheap, highly effective – and very toxic.

The frequency of stories like this remind me of the History Channels "Doomsayers"...

Just think, When the GOP uses up and pollutes all of Americas resources and moves all our Technology and assets to China we won't have to push one for English anymore. It will be push one for Chinese, Push two for Chinese, Push 3 for Chinese......

Blaming Republicans when only the Democrats were in charge, in North Carolina, at the time this problem is typical liberal doublespeak.

Remember, President Obama and his fellow 'progressives' have spent over 5 trillion dollars more then the govt. had coming in over the last 3 and half years, and what did we get for all that debt? Very little.

Did Obama, the Democrats, liberals, with their 5 trillion dollars, and/or their beloved EPA stop any of this? NO!

Therefore, regardless of your view on the amount of regulations we should have concerning the environment, consider that none of them have any value if the regs are not enforced.

***Don't Miss The Truth!

In my experience Republicans do not like to admit pollution exists.

The homes at Love Canal were finally sold off cheap to unsuspecting families in the 1990's (Bush Cheney years)

http://www.chej.org/wp-content/uploads/Documents/love_canal_factpack.pdf

http://library.buffalo.edu/specialcollections/lovecanal/about/chronology.php

Fast Forward to Current Day Wyoming-----Republican Gov Matt Mead and Republican Rep Lummis HID from residents of the town of Pavillion the EPA findings that found that chemicals used in"fracking" are what caused the aquifer they get drinking water from to become flammable.

They conspired to sit on this information hoping it would go away---Lummis even went so far as to er in the testify that the water in the area was "bad" and she know this because the Indian names for the rivers translated into things like Poison River. I think she is the CRAZY WOMAN that river is named for.

i say SUE !!!! North Carolina residents like those in WY have the right to a clean environment and we do not need BULLYS (he admitted it folks) like Romney intimidating them into accepting substandard living environments.

I think these pro polluting mega rich creepy people should be forced to live in their own mess.

Has it occurred to anyone out there that these corporations are guilty of both ELDER AND CHILD ABUSE? Imagine hitting a few CEO's with those charges.

but technically it is true by covering this information up and allowing people to continue to live and have children in these superfund areas they ARE engaging in child endangerment / abuse.

Clean Air

Clean Water

Safe Food

That is PRO-LIFE

Just shut up, and kiss me.

I see the typical Nanny stater's are out in force on this one. All blaming business, when it sounds like some freelancer using TCE in a shed. Most companies use actual buildings with a street address and everything. And Sandy, Missouri, you must be from St. Louis or Kansas City. The government is supposed to protect you from any and all hazards, crimes, yourself, right? I live in southern Missouri and on a farm. I send water samples from my wells, ponds and lake three times a year to the University of Missouri, Rolla for testing.

It cost sixty bucks for the panel of tests and so far my wells are cleaner than most city water supplies. But, that's why I have it tested, so I KNOW whats in the water. I bet N.C. has a similar program. Why not avail yourself of it and know whats going on with your water? Are these folks not sharp enough to do anything for them self? Rather than waiting for incompetent politicians and bureaucrats, why not do some things on your own? Oh that's right we're back to the government doing everything for you. Enjoy the toxins, the government has never saved anyone from toxic messes, and covered up most of the one's the government created. Kinda like having the Fox guarding the Chicken coup, isn't it? If you use a well for your main water supply, it only makes sense to spend a little money to keep track of what is in the water, if I get a contaminate in my well it will have shown up only a few months ago rather than ten years. That's just stupid not to have a well tested in a decade.

The bottom line is the government knew it was poison in the ground table and in the wells and did not tell the people. It says it had more pressing matters than saving peoples lives. That is what kinda government we have now. Blame someone else ,more pressing matters. Who else is getting poisoned at the moment that is more pressing. Who takes responsibility?

No one. We need to treat everyone involved (or gets caught) like they do in China. Death penalty.

Burning Brightly;

So if the one's causing the pollution are also the ones doing the executions, (China), who is actually getting executed for it? The one's really responsible or they're convenient scape goats?

Most of the Super fund sights in the U.S. can trace there origins to government contracts, government facilities and government dumping. So, who you gonna call?

Jesneck said, “We have a finite number of resources.”

And the government's priority list didn't have "notify those humans at risk" FIRST?

Let me guess...when this is all said and done we'll find the EPA was who gave the corporation in question the go-ahead to use these chemicals, for whatever they were being used for, to begin with. Another case of the EPA using its regulatory powers to limit competition for a favored cronie corporation (whether in bed with a Dem or Repub, or both) while endangering the public, all for politics.

How much you want to bet there was extreme red tape for smaller companies to use this stuff, but the hoops the big corporation had to jump through were, in relation to their resources, extremely small? I'd bet a lot on it.

Take it from me, someone who worked on Superfund Clean-up job for EPA...the EPA is a joke. There is still a neighborhood in St. Claire Shores, Michigan right now with extremely high breast cancer rates and early death from other cancers due to a PCB "clean-up" that was as fixed as a wrestling match. I was there. I saw it. The EPA tried to limit its liability by NOT pursuing who did the dumping...because they likely green-lighted the very chemical...and even though they never green-lighted the dumping, just the trail of the chemical even being used by such a large corporation while the smaller competitors had to use more expensive alternatives would lead to lawsuits for less than equal treatment under the law, by the EPA.

Since they had no intention of finding the responsible criminals that did the illegal dumping into the sewers, you'd think they'd worry about a REAL clean-up, and who they were killing....but nope. They used an old folks home as a dumping station for PCBs taken out of the sewer. Old people are far more susceptible to cancer than young people...why not use an empty lot? I was told "because the old will be dead before they get cancer...or won't be able to prove they got it from the PCBs". Now, since they had no intention of catching any criminals, no intention of ending the exposure (just moving it around to the least likely to sue), you'd think notification and cleaning would be a priority...nope.

They consistantly fudged the testing results because the tester ladies were boinking the GMs of the clean-up companies...and I know because I was at bars and hotels with both of the famale testing managers and the GMs of the clean-up companies. I KNOW they were cheating on spouses with each other. So the tests were geared to make the GMs look good...the PPI (parts per million...and billion) were faked to be low. SO the contamination never ended...it continues today. Also the notifications given were "everything's clear now".

The EPA is a monopoly on envornmental regulation...and all competition is outlawed. This is the predictable outcome of coerced monopoly...high costs, low quality service, and low or no accountability. So keep placing your faith in the EPA...and keep catching cancer and blaming only half (or less) of the cabal of conflict of interests in this cycle of abuse of the people and their property rights (including their bodies) simply because the corporations in question are big enough to pay more taxes than the victims of what they're doing. Face it...the government is just as much, or more, of the problem as are the corporations. I've seen it first hand more than once...it's all a big circle jerk of power and money...and whoever pays more taxes is exhonerated while the ones who pay less are either victims or thwarted competition.

Debi-1314897

Remember the capitalist mantra:

"Privatize profits, socialize losses"

Always, follow the money.

And this is pure ignorance. What you just described is called bailouts, Keynesianism, Mixed Economics, Third Way Economics, Corporatism, and/or Fascist Economics. It's exactly what we did when we bailed companies out...socialized their losses. It's exactly what Stimulus is...a way to socialize losses in the economy by socializing those losses through taxpayer funded injection of capital into the consumption side of the market. Keynesianism is based off this premise, and the premise of coerced central banking and government control of interest rates and money supply (not to mention the coerced monolization of what used to be market determi8ned "legal tender").

Pope Leo invented Third Way Economics a liong time ago as a halfway point and compromise between capitalism and communism/socialism...and it was adopted by Mussolini, the USA via Keynes, and Hitler. Fascist economics rose to power and never stopped...the Axis Powers lost the 2nd World War, but fascist economics (Mixed Economics) won.

So you're economically ignorant. What you complained about was NOT capitalism...it was corporatism/Keynesianism/fascist economics....what we currently have and have had since about 1913. It's neo-Mercantilism...instead of the state naming its monopolists, it just hands them to the highest bidders by regulating competition out of the market...same result. much more lucrative process for the government.

Socialism/Communism (they aren't the same thing, but for the sake of this discussion they are) would be socializing all loses and gains. Capitalism, or free markets, would be privatizing ALL gains and losses. When you socialize gains and privatize losses, or ovuce versa, you have Keynesinism, Mixed Economics, Corporatism, and/or Fascist Economics.

Anyone who thinks what we have now is capitalism is a total numbskull. "State capitalism" is about as similar to free market capitalism as a sratch-off ticket for the state lottery that calls itself "Golf Instant Win" is to PGA Golf. The two arte unrelated other than a similarity in name. State capitalism is no free market...and not what self-described capitalists are defending. We want to abolish state capitalism as much as you do. We want a free market...and BTW, so do market socialists. Yep...market economics ARE NOT a left/right issue...both sides have market fans in favor of free markets!

Seems to me someone should go to jail for this, to say nothing of being FIRED!!!

@ConservativeNotRepublican

"Ya gotta love liberals blaming Mitt Romney, who holds NO political office, for a problem that is under the managing authority of the liberal Democrat who is in office...."

Oh, please. There is not a single comment in this discussion thread "blaming Mitt Romney", for this problem and you know it; or you would know it if you actually read those comments which preceded yours.

I have just finished reading about two dozen of your Newsvine posts on your page, and you are raising the making of fallacious comments to an art form in these discussion thread, and seem to have made the conscious decision to simply ignore FACTS because they just get in the way of your many accusatory and belittling rants. What sort of person does such a thing?

The questions I have are:

*Do you believe that your 'free speech' is a privilege which you should protect and treat with respect, or is a right which is yours to irresponsibly abuse? ( " ...With freedom comes responsibility" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt )

*Do you actually think that people reading your comments consider you credible and truthful? Does it matter to you if others consider you untruthful?

*Do you like and respect the person you see in the mirror? do you think others do?

*Do you know the name we use for a person who repeatedly and deliberately lies? Is that a moniker you would wear with pride?

My immigrant farmer grandfather always shared an admonition which is a sage lesson for life:

"The person who lies to make a point, has no point to make."

Nicodemus1946. You make a good point sir. If officials knew of the contaminationn and were to lazy to notify the residents. I would start right there with accountability. When did a government employee become more important than the citizen and why should they be exempt? Being a government employee or agency should not exempt them. Quiet the contrary. They should be held accountable by the people.The government works for us.

The problem is that their is never any accountability or consequinces for failed Government agencies. Look to the TVA Kingston coal ash spill for proof.

they need to calculate how much of that chemical has been ingested by all the people over the years and then total it all up... each person responsible for this mess gets a big ole glass filled with the same amount of poison they forced onto all these poor people...

ProIndividual:

Capitalism comes in many forms. The current “oligarchical capitalism” economic system is designed to benefit a narrow class of elites without regard to the public good. As such, it is the worst kind of capitalism because it systematically adopts welfare-reducing policies (i.e., policies that reduce social wealth), which we are now witnessing. Why would such a system adopt perverse economic policies? Because the elites stand to enrich themselves from those policies while the losses are borne by the marginalized and politically powerless masses. Considering the crony capitalism perpetuating our political system, the masses are politically powerless, and votes are basically worthless.

My point is, since business passes on their tax burden, individuals are the main recipients of monetary losses and are carrying the burden of those losses.

To prove my point, all you have to do is follow the money and see where it wound up.

Ya gotta love liberals blaming Mitt Romney, who holds NO political office,

Ya gotta love folks with such vivid imaginations.

No one *blamed Mitt Romney*. The only time above your post that twit's name came up was a comment that Romney is likely to carry NC in the election (where this contamination ocurred) & one of his *bright ideas* is to shut down the EPA. (Probably on Day Two, since he's going to be so busy on Day One repealing the ACA, closing down the Dept of Ed, etc).

for a problem that is under the managing authority of the liberal Democrat who is in office.

Did you actually read the story b4 jumping in as Romney's white knight?

B/c the POTUS in 2005, when this problem 1st came to EPA attn, was GW Bush....a Republican.

Whatcha got, Bueller? Bueller?

*crickets*

Robertinoregon:

Oh, please. There is not a single comment in this discussion thread "blaming Mitt Romney", for this problem and you know it;

You can't be serious. There are literally dozens of comments going back to the very beginning of this particular thread blaming Mitt Romney by proxy. The implication being that if Mitt Romney were president, this would be a normal occurrence.

Don't believe me? Here, let me prove that to you. Does this sound familiar?

Actually, under a President Romney there will no longer BE an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as we know it. It is one of the numerous Federal Agencies that Mr. Romney has vowed to gut or eliminate.

Good luck EVER learning of environmental hazards to your health in a Romney Administration until you are already sick. Oh, and there will be no help for you then either, because "Obamacare" will have been repealed "on day one" (in Mr. Romney's own words); and once you are already sick your pre-existing condition security will be gone along with your Medicare. Good luck getting help then with that vocher check you get in the mail.

Considering Mr. Romney's unconditional support for what is the greatest new threat of ground water contamination, "fracking", it is only a matter of time before the problems these folks are facing will be coming to a neighborhood near you; maybe your neighborhood. But you will probably never find out what the Natural Gas exploration companies are pumping into the ground which is making YOU sick, because they are successfully fighting in the courts, with strong Republican Congressional support, to keep secret the contents of that witch's brew of chemicals.

And there will no longer be an EPA in your corner as your advocate. Only business interests will have the ear and support of a Romney Administration. We the People are only needed as disposable fuel for corporate profits, in the America of Mr. Romney. We are just fodder to keep the corporate "fat cats" fed

Robert, you know it's really not very wise to try and mount an argument when your own comments convict you so thoroughly.

Better luck next time.

Jerks in congress like Morgan Griffith (R) 9th district Va. wants to do away with the EPA or cut it back to nothing. Just imagine the poison we would all get to eat,drink and breath if he had his way. Those like him care for no one and nothing except the dollar and big business. Here it's the coal operators who want to destroy and pollute worse than they already have for the last sixty years.

Robert: As to your other questions:

*Do you believe that your 'free speech' is a privilege which you should protect and treat with respect, or is a right which is yours to irresponsibly abuse? ( " ...With freedom comes responsibility" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt )

Free speech is a right. It is granted in the Constitution. I express my thoughts and my opinions. You are free to disagree with them. But just because you do disagree with them does NOT mean they are dishonest comments. You are free to call it the way you see it, and I will defend your right to do that to the hilt. But I also have that right. You have no authority to censor anything I might say beyond your own personal right to ignore me or report me to Newsvine if you feel so led. Again, I defend your right to do that if you wish.

*Do you actually think that people reading your comments consider you credible and truthful? Does it matter to you if others consider you untruthful?

I don't sit around wringing my hands worrying about whether someone likes me or thinks I'm truthful. I don't pull any punches, and call it like I see it. If someone doesn't like me because of that, I really couldn't care less because I have absolutely no desire to be friends with the vast majority of those that would believe that of me. I don't live my life to seek the approval of others. If they like me fine, if they don't, that's fine too. I have a wonderful wife, family, and friends who love me or like me just fine. That's all the approval I need.

*Do you like and respect the person you see in the mirror? do you think others do?

I like myself just fine. I make no claims to being anywhere near perfect and work to improve myself where I think it necessary. As to what others think of me, again, it makes no difference to me. I don't live my life to seek the approval of others.

*Do you know the name we use for a person who repeatedly and deliberately lies? Is that a moniker you would wear with pride?

I like that "we" you used in that statement, as if everybody agrees with you and everybody thinks just like you do regarding your opinion of me. A bit of insecurity showing through there I'd say.

But again, you're welcome to your opinion. If you wish to say I lie, I have no problem with that. Please feel free to say it all you wish. It is obvious though that it apparently disturbs you to know that I'm not really concerned what your (or anyone else outside of my family and friends) opinion of me is.

"The person who lies to make a point, has no point to make."

Oh, you mean kinna like someone who says no one is blaming Romney....and then gets nailed to the wall with their own comments....lies like that?

I hope you've enjoyed our little psycho analysis session here today. If you didn't know the answers to the questions before, I hope I've made my positions clear to you.

But Robert, you might wanna go look in the mirror and pull that log out of your own eye before you go worrying about the twig in someone elses.

@conservative(someBS)Republican - You must live in fantasy land. The reason why you, and other republicans, and many business want states to handle things like this is the same reason that the many of the same people wanted states to handle civil rights. And that reason is the states WILL NOT handle it. As the state did not handle it here. A local television station and then the EPA did something about it - but in the end it will be taxpayers who pay to clean it up.

The historical record is overwhelming on this. The states do not handle these things, except, like Louisiana, to tell the corporations to dump their filth into poor neighborhoods or poor counties. In fact, the historical evidence is so overwhelming that you must be either insane or a paid flack.

As to your silly rant about blaming Rotten Romney by proxy, why not? The guy's a liar and a probable tax cheat. He has said that he is in favor of ending federal support for areas stricken by disaster. And, of course, privatizing it. What a friggin joke.

So, given what he's said, I suggest not blaming him by proxy, but stating flat out that if Romney wins, more of this sort of crap will happen. History, including the many dead under Bush/Cheney gutting of MMS, tells us that the probability of the above statement being accurate is greater than 98%. And since you, who apparently didn't even read the article, mouthed off in defense of the Mittsy, and the state that covered up this finding, the probability rises to three nines.

Scar: As I said, there are literally dozens here blaming Mitt Romney by proxy with the implication that this will be a regular occurrence if he ever gets in office.

You can try and spin it any way you wish, but all one has to do is read the comments to understand they don't blame the EPA or any Democrat, including Obama who has been in charge for FOUR YEARS now.

And yet, you STILL try and blame George Bush? Bush? Really? Obama has had an entire term. Exactly how long does a president have to be in office before liberals will ever take any responsibility for anything negative that happens on their watch. How long?

Oh, and one more thing. I haven't posted it in a few days, so you may not be aware that I'm not a Mitt Romney supporter, nor will I be voting for him. I'll either be doing a write in, or voting for the libertarian candidate. I do have a lot of libertarian leanings, but I am not a libertarian on a few of my core principles. Even so, I can't vote for Mitt Romney because I don't believe he will do anything about reducing spending, cutting the deficit, or securing the borders, which are three of my main gripes with the Republicans.

But, I will defend Mitt Romney when I see people making accusations about him that are based only on conjecture but have no basis in fact.

Jim:

You must live in fantasy land. The reason why you, and other republicans, and many business want states to handle things like this is the same reason that the many of the same people wanted states to handle civil rights

You mean the fantasy land where Republicans voted by a 29% HIGHER margin than Democrats to pass the Civil Rights Act. That fantasy land?

You mean the fantasy land where there is NO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY to fund an EPA. Please find the spending authorization in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution for me that grants any authorization for the formation of an EPA.

You mean the fantasy land where the EPA was formed by a Republican. That fantasy land? Oh yes, it was none other than Richard Nixon (POS crook that he was) that gave birth to the EPA.

So Jim, you tell me which of those three points I just gave you is fantasy.

The states do not handle these things

Do the states have the right to ignore Federal law? No, they don't. And if they do ignore Federal law, something tells me that someone showing up saying they're with the EPA isn't going to disuade them since the states already know there is an EPA to begin with. If they are going to break the law, then an EPA isn't going to stop them. The Federal government doesn't have to have an EPA to crack down on a state if they want to do so.

As to your silly rant about blaming Rotten Romney by proxy, why not?

That's really quite amusing. You call it "silly" and then validate that it is a fact with your why not comment. That spin will make you dizzy just thinking about it.

He has said that he is in favor of ending federal support for areas stricken by disaster

You might be right on this one, but I can't remember the quote. Have you got it by any chance?

And since you, who apparently didn't even read the article, mouthed off in defense of the Mittsy,

How silly of me, please show me where in the article it mentioned Mitt Romney. I must have missed that part too. But, I guess if someone else mentions Mitt in a negative light, then no one should have the right to question that at all, and those comments should just be allowed to stand without challenge. Is that your position?

Had no one else mentioned Mitt Romney to begin with, I'd not have any complaints about it. But as you have already admitted, people are in fact blaming Romney by proxy for a problem he has nothing to do with.

So far, I've taken on scar, jim, colormepurple and Robertinoregon. Ya know, if you guys can get just a few more on your side, it might actually get to be a fair fight for you.

Right now, I'm not even having to break a sweat to take on any point you've thrown at me so far. The least you could do is make me have to work a little bit harder at it.

C'mon, you guys gotta have more on the ball than what you've shown me so far. It's 4 to 1 and I'm yawning.

EPA doing it's job protecting Americans, while states fail to do the job? Really? No way!? That couldn't be possible....I mean this is likely the case because they were fighting a guy in a shack cleaning circuit boards instead of a giant multinational corporation, but hey....the EPA is a job killer right, so we better get rid of it. I've worked and traveled in China and India for a long time now, and anyone that thinks having the EPA look out for the environment or the American people should happily move over to one of those countries for the clean air and drinking water. This is not to say that every government agency like the EPA is always run at maximum efficiency or carries out it's business without fault, but I would prefer to have a well staffed, well funded, national agency with real authority any day, over 50 state run, corporate owned, plutocratic agencies without any real authority.

VOTE A STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC TICKET AND VOTE ALL TP GOP NEOCONS OUT OF OFFICE!!! THEY AREN'T HELPING, JUST OBSTRUCTING ANYWAYS

Obama/Biden 2012

@ those blasting the republicans, saying that it was their fault and the the Democrats finally fixed the problem with this particular issue and that the republicans are going to do away with this and that, making you live in a dirtier world - the wonderful state of North Carolina was run by a Democrat governor - Mike Easley, and had a majority of Democrats in the state house for 10+ years prior to Bev Perdue being elected in 2008. It's not because a democrat was voted into positition to do anything, they had been in position for years and did nothing. This is not about dem or repub, this is about people not doing their jobs!

CnR, I was going to put in a few things here but then that wouldn't make it Fair to the rest here, You got it handled quite well so Ill move along to some place else and leave you to the fun. ENJOY!

Romney will make sure TCE is no longer regulated and declared non-toxic. If this approach is good enough for China, it is good enough for Romney.

It won't be long before you're reading this:

Years ago, they thought it was an effective way to extract the materials. It was new and promising with little known side-effects. Eventually fracking lead to high levels of contamination and now 95% of all water in the Pennsylvania and central U.S. is contaminated beyond repair. "We thought we were doing the right thing by getting to the hard-to-find oil and gas that our runs our industry", said Joe Smith, CEO of Fracking Inc. "We just wanted to help keep gas prices down and profits up but we weren't thinking about the long term effects."

"We needed to put our shareholders before public safety on a quarterly basis." said Joe, who is now retired living in the Cayman Islands. "It was just the cost of progress."

Very reminiscent of the PG&E case of the '90s, which was one of the largest class-action settlements of the time. The California-based gas and electric company, for those who haven't seen Erin Brockovich, did not properly dispose of toxic chemicals that contaminated groundwater and made almost an entire town nearby sick with cancer.

With so many potential carcinogens encountered in the routine of daily life anyway, I cannot imagine having one pumped into your own house -for years- without your knowledge by the state you trusted. Upon discovery of the betrayal, I do not blame any of these homeowners for being furious. How do they know TCE was not in their water as well?

I smell a class-action lawsuit in the future and I hope they can prove the state's negligence.

This is part of the reason why all of the articles about how to save money that point out water comes straight from the tap strike me as naive. If people aren't drinking that water, it's probably because it doesn't taste right. It's better to trust your instincts. I grew up with the most delicious tap water. It tasted better than any bottled water. But I now live in an area where the tap water tastes bad, and I've known 3 people with cancer. It's common knowledge that this place has high rates of cancer and air pollution, so why should I trust the foul tasting tap water? Everyone here buys bottled water, and it's not because we're wealthy or stupid, though it is because we are chumps who don't demand the clean water we deserve.

How disgusting. People need to know that we need protections from practices like this. We cannot fight the EPA just because some politicians are in the back pocket of unscrupulous businessmen and energy companies. I am all for trimming the fat in government but this is a great example of why we need regulations and oversight.

No EPA=a lot worse than contaminated water.

And this is what is wrong with this country. You people just don't get it. This is NOT about which party is better. The truth is that NEITHER party has our best interests at heart. Both Obama and Romney are financed by Goldman Sachs, they both support the same agenda, their only differences are their views on abortion and gay marriage. The contamination doesn't stem from the Republican party any more than it does the Democrat party, rather it's a simple matter of greed and most likely who paid off whom to look the other way. Our politicians are the best money can buy, and the party is irrelevant. I'm not remotely a fan of Romney, but maybe he's onto something. If you eliminate the EPA and put it in the hands of the states instead, you and I have more control over the decisions that are made and who's in charge. If you are actually offended that situations like this happen, I have just one question for you - what are you going to do about it? Sit here and complain and lament behind your computer screen, or actually be an American, get off your duff and say you've had enough to actually get involved and do something about it?

That's your government working hard for you...

And we want them to take care of our healthcare now?? That sounds like a delightful recipe...

Lexiwords

How can you blame HG Bush alone. It was a Democrat Gov (Cuomo) and Democrat Health Department Commissioner (Axelrod, not the one working for Obama) that did not classify sections of Love Canal as uninhabitable and allowed people to try to resettle there. The Commissioner was even one of the first to warn about the toxicity problem but still reported that 4 out of 7 areas were habitable in the study, "Love Canal Emergency Declaration Area: Decision on Habitability - September 1988"

I've worked in this industry for 12 years. I myself have had to go into residences and tell them their water is contaminated and start carrying in skids of water.

I'll state this as simply as I can. Industry will do whatever they can legally get away with. So, if the standard for TCE in groundwater raised from 5 parts per billion (ppb), to 250 ppb, they will not do anything to address anything below 250.

So what happens is, the chemical industry lobbies to change these standards. Most times under a Republican administration they get away with it. Plus, in PA and NJ, the Republican governors have slashed the state environmental departments to the point where they are not functional. Then, when a site like this slips through the cracks, all these tea party nutcases go "AH HAH!, GOT'CHA!", as if this justifies their stance to eliminate the EPA, etc, when in reality they don't have a f***ing clue what they are talking about.

Jeffor:

...but this is a great example of why we need regulations and oversight.

We have regulations and oversight, but the regulations are not being enforced and many a blind eye is being turned, either voluntarily or by pressure from higher above.

MonkeyMo:

...what are you going to do about it? Sit here and complain and lament behind your computer screen, or actually be an American, get off your duff and say you've had enough to actually get involved and do something about it?

The saying "you can't fight city hall" came about for a reason and our "bettors" are fully aware the odds are stacked against people successfully gaining change. There have been a few victories here and there, but overall, the government and monied corporations remain in control.

The Keystone Pipeline will be built, whether the landowners want that pipe running through and destroying their land, or not. The banks figured out a way to legally take the people's wealth, and with the help and blessings of the government, they did it. Using 9/11 as an excuse, the government has managed to erode our Constitutional rights and if the people choose to exercise their First Amendment, the government declares it unlawful, arrests the "violators" and quiets any discord.

The less trusting and dependent on government and corporations, the more free you become.

Tom:

How can you blame HG Bush alone. It was a Democrat Gov (Cuomo) and Democrat Health Department Commissioner (Axelrod, not the one working for Obama) that did not classify sections of Love Canal as...

Does anyone really care what party is to blame? What does it really matter and how will a party affiliation fix the problems the country is facing? Are parties being focused on because no one has any solutions, so it's just easier to blame a party?

I worked for a Water and Sewer district for 20 years - there is no "one" single source of blame - just like the Federal government; it took many groups and individuals to screw up the environment and our government...you posters who constantly slice up the pie and claim you know the problem - you are the problem.

I could tell you stories that go back 31 years...

DOW Chemical puts this much pollutant in the Gulf of Mexico in an hour.

@americansarefools2008....I agree...Why do so many people sit back and allow our foods and water and medicines etc...to be poisoned and no one says a word. I just watched a show on the documentary channel about bottled water and the harmful effects of drinking it. There are many poisonous chemicals in the bottled water that everyone keeps wasting their money on....so there is no safe drinking water for us anywhere!! We can't trust anything anymore because our Government could care less about the people. It's all about $$ and population control.

I am so sick and tired of people screaming for more regulations when we can't even enforce the ones we have. What the heck would more regulations do, if you can't enforce them ? It sounds to me like an enforcement problem, not a regulation problem.- But keep on writing more and we will claim you are getting something done.

Hope - 295312---I agree with you! (#1.28) And if a person lives in an area that is contaminated, they may choose to grow their own in containers with bagged natural compost/soil/etc., and collect rainwater as much as possible. If one lives where it is illegal to collect rainwater, I for one would look into the possibility of a class action lawsuit. I also wonder if there is any way to filter out the contaminants? This is just really a horrible situation for anyone to be in. Us humans are really in a pickle--we as a species have so utterly succeeded in fowling up our 'living quarters'!

DMan: I don't necessarily disagree with what you said. Lobbyists for any industry will try and lower their costs. Maintaining reasonable standards is a legitimate and correct function of government. But, it does work both ways.

Now, you have worked in the industry, and I haven't, so I'll just give a generic example. You tell me where my logic is wrong:

Let's say, using your numbers, that 250 ppm, of a given pollutant or chemical is determined to be a safe level. (A level determined by validated peer reviewed study) A level that anyone can ingest over long periods of time with no discernible ill effects. (And of course that number will be different for every substance, but again, I'm just using a generic example here) And so we have chemical X that can be tolerated at 250 ppm and that costs an industry, oh say, just pick a number here....1 million dollars a year to keep it at that level.

The environmental groups will target specific industries (coal, oil, pharmaceutical, chemical to name a few) and fund studies to prove their point, and then want to get that level down to, oh say, 5 ppm, even if the previous studies have shown that 250 ppm is a not a danger. But in order to do that, it will cost business 5 billion in spending to get it to that level, with no measurable decrease of danger to the public since the 250 ppm was already previously validated.

This is what I have against the environmental groups. I have no problem accepting legitimate peer reviewed study with validated empirical results that can be quantified over a period of time with a sufficient sample number. Where I have a problem is taking one study that is sponsored by a group and using that as the sole basis for making regulation. And many times, that seems to be the case on the left.

Now, to be fair and objective here, industry does the same thing, and I am no more accepting of their studies than I am their opposition. So, as I said, this is a legitimate and responsible role of government to test and set the levels. I have no problem with that at all. I just want it to be done without bias toward either side. That seems pretty logical and reasonable to me.

I have a problem is taking one study that is sponsored by a group and using that as the sole basis for making regulation. And many times, that seems to be the case on the left.

Please site your source.

Now, to be fair and objective here, industry does the same thing,...

If they both do the same thing, how is it one side can be labeled more guilty than the other?

I'd much rather err on the side of conservative and "safer" levels of ppm's than to have someone come back 5 years later and say "Gee sorry, we made a mistake and allowed too much".

Debi:

If they both do the same thing, how is it one side can be labeled more guilty than the other?

That is my point. They are both guilty of it. There are plenty of examples to choose from. Take vaccinations and a link to autism for example. Dozens of studies have shown that vaccinations have no link with autism, yet the anti vaccination faction took one study done in Britain, that supposedly showed a link, and then used that as their basis for wanting requirements for vaccinations eliminated. The study was later showed to be flawed.

Take the oil damage done by the oil well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico a couple of years ago. The oil industry put out studies that showed no long lasting effects. The environmental groups put out studies claiming just the opposite. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

As I said, setting limits is a legitimate and responsible role of government. I have no problem with that. None. I just want it to be done without bias toward one side or the other.

I'd much rather err on the side of conservative and "safer" levels of ppm's than to have someone come back 5 years later and say "Gee sorry, we made a mistake and allowed too much".

I have no problem with that either as long as you're willing to accept the costs associated with that. You also have to be willing to accept the probable job losses in America that will result due to those higher standards that go along with that, when other countries are willing to accept higher levels that they deem to be safe. Companies have to make a profit to stay in business, so don't complain about companies moving to other countries that will accept higher levels, and then demand that those same companies stay in America.

Erring on the side of caution is fine. But if you err so much that it puts a company out of business or forces them to leave, then it may not be the wisest course of action. That's why I say the government has a responsible role to do the testing independently, and set the regulations based on those tests, not what one group on any particular side presents.

That doesn't mean that you have to have an agency so onerous as the EPA, who will prevent a homeowner from building on their own property because a small section of their land has been designated a "wetland" by the EPA, even if there is no water on it. That recently happened in Idaho, and the EPA was overturned in their judgement. Someone in the EPA designated their property a "wetland" and began assessing them fines, even though they stopped work on their building, not to mention, they also had to spend thousand to take it to court. This is the kind of example I'm talking about when I talk about over reaching by the EPA.

http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=1873

No one should place 100% trust in any system, be it governmental or private. Always, do due diligence.

This little episode will be nothing compared to what will happen when fracking comes. This new method of drilling is notorious for water contamination.

Any kind of water contamination is bad. It renders a person's property worthless. This would have economic implications for sure.

We all better think seriously about protecting land and water in America. Our future depends on it.

Scar: As I said, there are literally dozens here blaming Mitt Romney by proxy with the implication that this will be a regular occurrence if he ever gets in office.

No, this is what you said:

Ya gotta love liberals blaming Mitt Romney, who holds NO political office for a problem that is under the managing authority of the liberal Democrat who is in office.

The phrase *by proxy* does not exist in what you said.

What you're doing by inserting it after the fact is termed *moving the goalposts*.

You can try and spin it any way you wish,

What spinning?

Fact: no one said it was directly Romney's fault. You moving the goalposts doesn't negate that fact.

but all one has to do is read the comments to understand they don't blame the EPA or any Democrat, including Obama who has been in charge for FOUR YEARS now.

I see plenty of comments blaming the EPA. Which is rather silly as they're now the ones who are coming in to resolve the issue. It was the state that dropped the ball, not the feds.

Obama's 4 yrs began (Jan 20, 2009) 4 yrs after (2005) the problem was known. The EPA is taking action on it now. I'm pretty sure Obama is still the POTUS.

And yet, you STILL try and blame George Bush? Bush? Really?

Fact: problem began in 2005. Fact: GW Bush was POTUS then. Fact: It was decided it wasn't a *priority* to pursue in 2008. Fact: GW Bush was still POTUS in 2008.

Can't argue w/ facts.

Obama has had an entire term. Exactly how long does a president have to be in office before liberals will ever take any responsibility for anything negative that happens on their watch. How long?

It didn't *happen on his watch*. It happened in 2005. (Maybe you should read the article?)

The cleanup, however, did begin *on his watch*.

I live near Love Canal, so I know a bit about the Superfund approval process (funding was made stagnant by a Republican majority Congress that refused to vote for it, during the Clinton administration). It would make your head spin just to read it all & then try to figure out what it means.

Like most gov't programs, quite a bit of time is spent wrapped up in red tape b4 anything gets done. Congress implemented the act in 1980 under public pressure when Love Canal went viral. The POTUS has naught to do w/ the steps various agencies take b4 releasing funding for projects. While it's certainly a high priority to the ppl who live w/ chemical contamination, seems there's always something bigger & worse that needs to be taken care of 1st. It is how it is.

And there's only so much $ w/ which to accomplish it all. Congress hasn't been helpful lately in that respect.

But, I will defend Mitt Romney when I see people making accusations about him that are based only on conjecture but have no basis in fact.

I think it is based in fact. Romney did say the EPA was one of the fed agencies he wanted to blow up.

For ppl to extrapolate from his statement that things would be worse under a Romney administration doesn't seem to be much conjecture to me.

*Defending* the fool doesn't seem like a good idea when looking at it that way. He's said a lot of indefensible things & flip-flopped on all of them.

Scar:

What you're doing by inserting it after the fact is termed *moving the goalposts*.

Wrong, just because I didn't say "by proxy" in my opening statement does NOT in any way change the meanings of what the posters are saying about Mitt Romney. Their implications are clear. And that implication is that if Mitt Romney was president, it would be even worse. And thus, by extension, they are blaming Romney for a something they think he might do, but in fact has no authority over.

The problem with their implication is that there is NOTHING to substantiate that in any way, shape, or form, and my not using the words "by proxy" does not change their intent or implied meaning. The comments stand on their own.

It didn't *happen on his watch*. It happened in 2005.

I have no argument that the problem started under the Bush administration. None. But we didn't just skip over the last 4 years to arrive at this point in time. The EPA didn't set it as a priority then, and they have had 4 years to do so, and are only now getting around to it. To the degree that it wasn't addressed under Bush does not in any way absolve the Obama administration from their responsibility for following the same policy. If it was bad policy previously, then it was bad policy under all four years of the Obama administration as well: Four years where he had the authority to change it but didn't.

If you blame the Bush administration for the original policy, then logically one must blame the Obama administration for continuation of that policy, and not making any changes for four years. There is nothing stating that the Obama administration must follow the same policy. After all, I thought "change" was Obama's big selling point in his campaign. Blaming Bush is just a convenient excuse for the Obama supporters to pass the buck. The Obama administration could have done something much sooner. They didn't do it. And that's a fact. As I've said to other posters that always blame Bush for everything, you have convinced me: I will not be voting for George Bush this November, and that's FINAL. I've drawn my line in the sand.

The cleanup, however, did begin *on his watch*.

Better late than never I'd say.

It would make your head spin just to read it all & then try to figure out what it means

Funny, I say the same thing about Obamacare.

I think it is based in fact. Romney did say the EPA was one of the fed agencies he wanted to blow up.

There are many functions of the EPA that can be eliminated, and those responsibilities turned over to the state. If, in this instance, there was a failure at the state level, that does NOT mean that any and all future actions by a particular state will also be a failure as well. One can not logically assume that a particular event has any direct correlation to any subsequent event.

As I've said in other posts, there is nothing mystical or magical about someone being from the Federal Government that gives them any special abilities which somehow makes them more qualified or effective than someone the state might hire.

To use a Bush example: When he federalized the airport screeners, that didn't suddenly make airline passengers any safer than they were when the screeners were private employees. It allowed government the power over the screeners, but that in and of itself in no way automatically makes any individual screener somehow more competent that they were previously to becoming a government employee. But, it probably did give them a lot more benefits and perks and cost the taxpayers a bunch more money, not to mention a more surly and arrogant attitude among many of them once they knew it would be much harder for them to get fired.

For ppl to extrapolate from his statement that things would be worse under a Romney administration doesn't seem to be much conjecture to me.

You're welcome to that opinion, but that is all it is; an opinion. There is NOTHING to substantiate that with any basis in fact.

He's said a lot of indefensible things & flip-flopped on all of them.

As I've covered in other posts. Obama supporters tend to only look at their opposition, and ignore it when Obama flip flops. Oh I'm sorry, I forgot, Obama didn't "flip flop", he "evolved". (cough bullsh!t) Obama flip flopped on gay marriage, but since he took the position liberals wanted to see, then they say nothing about it.

And to be perfectly honest, if someone changes a previous position to adopt the position I support, I don't have any problem with it either. And that is why the flip flop argument is nothing but a red herring. Funny how liberals only view someone as "open minded" when that person comes around to supporting a position they also support. If not, then they are labeled as a flip flopper.

More ignored regulations won't make this better.

Nicodemus--

You said the homeowners should have been testing their wells--and I totally agree. In fact, it was a responsible homeowner who uncovered the issue to begin with here. But you mention that you send your water samples to a university to be tested at $60 a pop. That is awesome--that there are public universities, supported with public money, that have the equipment and the scientific knowledge to do that. But in romneyworld, wouldn't that process be privatized? Wouldn't Romney want to make sure the homeowners exercised their "freedom of choice" to have their water tested by private business? Then, with no regulatory agencies, I guess we'd have to rely on competition to sift out the unreliable testers. Although, with drinking water, that might take a long time.

Like I said, I agree with you about testing. But also wanted to call attention to the fact that we need reliable public agencies--with adequate resources. Second, we need to have entities that, when it turns out the water is toxic, and organize the resources to remedy the problem.

It seems to be working up to now, really well...maybe if the water had been contaminated with C02 it would have fixed by now

You are an absolute piece of crap, and before the day is over you will have lots of company, I'm sure. This story isn't about this election or your personal favorite for the White House job, it's about somebody too damn lazy to make a few phone calls, or specifically, too busy pocketing the money from the builder who made all the dough on the homes he put up in the contaminated area.

I'd like like scalp 'em all and parade them in a walk of shame and I don't give a fig whose administration they were protected under when it all went down.

Right! We should ALL be able to throw WHATEVER we want into rivers, lakes and streams...like they do in third world countries. We don't need to be the cleanest...we need to be the FREE-EST.

And the Republicans want to get rid of the EPA! Disgusting.

WisconsinDad -- Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

screminmini -- And the right claim the state does a much better job at these things. BS.

I liked Starderup because I hope it's sarcasm, but I could be wrong.

I guarantee that an Orginization of the State of North Carolina, Funded by Citizens of North Carolina, tasked with protecting North Carolina...would not have had this "on the back burner" while resources, appropriated in Washington DC were used for "Higher Priorities"

Do you people not understand that this happened because of and on the watch of the EPA...The Federal Government Agency...could not pick up a phone, pass the story to the press, paint a sign on a rock

Mind Boggling doesn't begin to describe it

Are you for real, Starderup????????????

You mean to tell me that as a Libertarian.......... the best solution is to just stick your head in the sand, and pretend that all will be fine?

WOW!! Aren't you naive!!..and dangerous, and misguided, as well!!

starderup

the government has known for 6 years---that means the contamination began long before Obama---given it was discovered and NOT taken care of during the Bush / Cheney years.

Mr.PheaNiques-0000001

Do you people not understand that this happened because of and on the watch of the EPA...

Apparently Mr P, reading comphrension isn't one of your strong point. Here's the important point:

At the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Charlotte Jesneck’s division took the case. “It looked to be that the contamination was confined to that well,” Jesneck said. So in 2005, DENR moved on.

The EPA was only called in well after the state knew it had a problem.

--------------------------------------------

duuug

You mean to tell me that as a Libertarian.......... the best solution is to just stick your head in the sand, and pretend that all will be fine?

It's better than where the rethugli-cons have their head at. That brown stuff definitely isn't sand.

I wonder how many of these people who were victims of a failed state and local govt are supporters of the repugs who want to eliminate the EPA. The state and local govt fails completely and yet the Redeemers want to eliminate the EPA. Any of the Reich wing want to reconsider?

Mr. Phea -- Read much? The STATE dropped the ball and people are harmed.

Egads, you need to learn to READ and COMPREHEND!

The article states that it was handled by the State of NC. In those years, both the state legislature and the Governors office was controlled by Democrats.

If you want to politicize it, this was screwed up by bureaucrats. The same folks that would be looking after your health care if the single payer supporters have their way.

Wow people! He was being sarcastic. Please take a second and read things a second time before you unleash your anger for no good reason.

Starderup is being sarcastic... a point apparently lost on at least some.. hehe.

The relevant point nationally isn't that NC state officials failed to do their job for years and let their own people get poisoned (which is all true), but that the EPA serves a necessary and function enforcing the Clean Water Act and mandating disclosure. Bush II greatly diminished the EPA, but the agency continues to serve a critical function, precisely because the states cannot be relied upon to carry out their responsibilities.

And yet, even today, the Republicans, led by Paul Ryan, want to get rid of the EPA.

I withdraw my comment, sighting poor reading comprehension skills...But I would still look to point out that, though the DENR is a State Orginization, they are tasked by Federal Law with administering EPA rules, regulations and standards

MrPheaniques......give it up you not only have poor reading comprehension you also do not know that the Republicans want the STATE to do all these things and to get rid of the EPA completely.......then who will you blame??

This is just another North Carolina contaminated water story. Just look to the east and look into Camp Lejeune Marine Corp Base. There was contaminated water there for years. Many Marines and their families have become ill and have died Someone needs to stand up and take a stand!

But when you are fighting the government in becomes a different story!

Government intrusion into our lives is SOCIALISM!!!!! We Libertarian believe in the freedom to drink whatever we want. Down with the EPA for scaring people like that!!!

They been drinking it for years, and they're FINE!!!!!

Abolish all government Obama phone giveaway programs. Everything was GREAT before he came along!

So you are going to vote for more government intrusion in your life. Vouchers are just another government intrusion. They are giving you taxpayer money to pick out you healthcare, your retirement, etc. I do not believe how people could fall for this type of hoodwink. Medicare and social security is your own money and the government handles it just fine. Vouchers is a load a garbage and if you believe that it is for your own good, well it's not.

Starderup....I checked you up. I believe you posted with just enough seriousness to be able to reach the people who actually practice that kind of behavior in the belief that they're somehow being 'Very Good Americans', and possibly getting them to think about the consequences of their Laissez-faire ideas.

For the last 10 years I've been very amazed at the American Public's willingness to go against their own best interests. The art of Propaganda has been taken to a higher level and it seems to be having the desired effects. It will be interesting to see how the spinmeisters handle this one.

Government intrusion into our lives is SOCIALISM!!!!! We Libertarian believe in the freedom to drink whatever we want. Down with the EPA for scaring people like that!!!

They been drinking it for years, and they're FINE!!!!!

Abolish all government Obama phone giveaway programs. Everything was GREAT before he came along!

Starterup,

I hope you're just being sarcastic in your statements. If not, then you are confusing freedom for liberty.

What far-right-wingers do not seem to grasp is that there are limits to freedom. They convince politically naive voters that they have the 'freedom' to do this or the 'freedom' to do that, and that the opposition is supposedly taking away their 'freedoms.'

If businesses or industries maliciously neglecting to report a known condition they created that will handicap or kill innocent people, it is then an infringement on the rights of the innocent individual to be free from something created by men that is dangerous and prevents him or her from living, as well as an infringement on the workers', as well as the consumers' and community's right to be free from inflicted hazards that will, without their knowledge and due to a lack of oversight or monitoring, impair their health or kill them.

In a civilized world where moral as well as ethical judgement exists and responsibility is valued, and the Laws of the Land are greater than presidents, kings or tyrants, you do NOT have the sanctioned freedom to inflict this hazardous condition on innocent people that did not have a choice in the matter.

just think... without the EPA we won't have to worry about warnings and such... which will make us so free. Free to get cancer, free to be poisoned, free to watch our loved ones get sick and die... I guess the cost of this freedom should be free.

rradiko....in this country you do have the right to inflict this hazardous condition on(to) innocent people if the government gives the greenlight or refuses to pursue the issue. This is plainly pointed out in this story.

This is not an isolated event. Nothing EVER happens unless someone becomes the the loudest squeaky wheel.

When I was a kid, I remember vacationing in Kill Devil Hills, enjoying the beach and visiting the Wright Brothers' museum. What a wonderful place! North Carolinians are my kind of people, too. Don't ask me why, but I just really like them. This special place needs to be preserved and the Democrats are the best shot these people have to keeping their water clean and protecting their natural resources.

johnnyt

rradiko....in this country you do have the right to inflict this hazardous condition on(to) innocent people if the government gives the greenlight or refuses to pursue the issue. This is plainly pointed out in this story.

This is not an isolated event. Nothing EVER happens unless someone becomes the the loudest squeaky wheel.

------------------------

johnnyt,

I agree with you that the "loudest squeaky wheel gets the grease."

But then what is the point of this news article? That the federal government is to blame? That's not how it reads. A North Carolina state government agency knew about it. So did the polluters. So where was the budget or the political will to enforce the environmental laws for this state?

NC is one of the politically conservative, bible-belt states that many in their state don't want the "gov'mint," to interfere with their citizens or the affairs of their businesses. Some would argue that they got what they wanted, and this is a very unfortunate public health consequence of their voting against their own interests.

I feel bad for the victims, their surviving families, and hope they get compensation and health care for any future problems they experience as a result of their local water table pollution.

I'm just tryin' to drive you, Miss Daisy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRX4mlFi06A

Bye, bye. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5uxQElYu68&feature=related

Whoever was responsable for letting the community know should be punished. A fine or getting sued is not good enough. So many people in this country(U.S. Congress, state congress, city counsels, etc do horrible jobs and just want a paycheck. Remember the Russel Crowe movie(true story) where the tobacco company hired thugs to go after him or the Julia Roberts movie(another true story) where the energy company knew about the cancer causing toxins killing people.

We know companies don't care , but the sad thing is the politicians knew and don't care. I think they should be punished, but are always off limits.

Oh, GWAR, I love you guys. Now, don't defile the deli tray and just play nice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIl7d1VVwOc

TCE is a chemical that cleaning industries have used for years to remove grease. It is cheap, highly effective – and very toxic.

The frequency of stories like this remind me of the History Channels "Doomsayers"...

As a an actual libertarian I can see you're as fake as they come. No libertarian gives a crap about Obama or Romney...both so close to the same to us it's pathetic. And those of us that are anarchists (want an abolition of coerced monoplization of market demanded services by the government, not an end to all government, provided it's voluntary government) don't hate the EPA because they scare people actually being hurt...but because they are an ineeficient monopoly on the market demanded service of cleaning and keeping clean our environment.

Tell me...who was it that ruled in favor of corporations who were polluting farms because they polluting corporations paid more taxes than the victims (farmers)?

It was the coercively monoplized government. Respect for property rights solves the issue...but the state only respects who pays more in revenues to their tax (extortion) coffers. Hence, corporations (that the state invented BTW) are given deference, under the guise of "good of the public...good of the collective". What they mean is "good of our tax coffers"...to them that is the "public good". But the real public good is stopping the pollution of those big tax paying corporations upon those smaller payment giving individuals and small businesses.

This is why the rich rule the rest of us...because it's NOT a free market where we're all equal under the law. If I pay more in taxes than you, I am worth more to the state than you are...and court decisions WILL go in my favor.

What is the anarchist libertarian solution? Abolish the state. Abolish the monopolization of market demanded services like law, defense, environmental controls, etc. End the state invented corporate personhood created simply to protect the guilty in a corporate structure. End favortism under the law by ending the monopoly of force in law. You might disagree...but the root problem is the coercive monoplizer...the state...and until you address the root problem then all you're doing is tinkering around the edges of true causation.

The state is that which murders and extorts...but they say it's legal when THEY do it...but illegal when everyone else does it. That causes all kinds of problems...like what we have here. THEY can allow poluttion, or be too inept to stop it...but anyone who dares compete with them to better this service to the public, they are a criminal. Seems to me until you realize the state is the root problem...the one monopolizing by force, and the one failing at its proclained job...then you'll never solve the logical problems in the methodology. Organizing by force always leads to inequality and absurdity...and that's all the state is: an entity that enforces a monopoly on a service with force, as opposed to allowing competition, ie voluntary governments.

Classical liberals had one thing right...the state is evil. They thought it was a "necessary evil"...so pardon us libertarians for taking their ideas to their logical conclusions and saying "if it is a necessary evil, perhaps trying to make it unnecessary might be good if we don't support, in principle, evil."

How much money have you asked the state spend on making itself unnecessary? Why do you think the state is benign or beneficient...even as it is the only group that "legally" extort (tax) and murder (kill innocent people in wars of aggression and occupation)? I mean, unless you think everyone should be able to extort and murder (as opposed to fund themselves via payments for service or donations...like the rest of society), or think having a group that can violate all logic and ethics that everyone else must be governed by is GOOD, then rationally and logically you have no excuse for not noticing that the state NEVER spends ANY money on maing itself unnecessary, and only expand its powers constantly...and you have no consistent moral theory by which to argue for such a privileged class (the state).

How long will you ignorte your failing morally? How long will you cheerlead for extortion and murder? How long before you start biting the hand that feeds you, and get up off your knees? How long before you notice the one solving all your problems is the same one who caused them so they can called "hero"?

How long will libertarians have to logically demonstrate to statists that they are cheerleading for a masochistic public ruled by a sadistic ruling class? Wake up.

duug, you have the right take on libertarians: heads in the sand, butts up in the air, b-holes spraying, um, stuff into the wind. But I think that guy was being sarcastic.

and pro(haha) individual - you seem to be missing a fairly obvious point about your little cult. Which is simply that everything "libertarians" propose ends up benefiting the entrenched power. Libertarians are no more than pseudo-crypto plutocrats dressed up like Little Bo Peep.

Wrongme: The EPA??? We're gonna get rid of that. FEMA too.

What are the chances of a big hurricane striking the United States again??

Wasted money.

It seems those posting in this thread wouldn't know a Libertarian if one bit them in the rear.

Blatant falsehoods that most Libertarians DO NOT believe:

Everything was great before Obama: Wrong. Both Repubs and Dems were equally responsible for our current state.

Libertarians want to abolish government: NOT. Libertarians want to reduce government to its constitutional functions of protecting liberty and against foreign invasion.

Libertarians don't care about the environment: False. Many say this is one of the few things that falls within government's responsibility as the largest market externality that exists.

Libertarians have their head in the sand: False. On the contrary, those that think the government can continue spending more than they tax have their head in the sand. Taxes do need to come down; but spending (and the size of government) needs to come down A LOT more.

Let's just hope they don't use toxic Chinese dry wall.

why? ever heard the term "poetic justice" ...................:)

Scooter - think lawyers won't use the dry wall and then start a lawsuit? Sometimes, the gov provides the flimsiest of reasons as to "how" toxic water could have happened. At Camp Lejune, toxic water was the only water pumped into base housing and base office areas - sinc ethe 1960s

Back from Lost wages, 20-27 Oct! Good Mornin'

Morning, Scooter, and you got that right! Wonder if those poor people were part of a scientific study they weren't even aware of being roped in to?

morning scremin,

i doubt it that would take forethought, and when i think of our local power&water....well lets just say it is highly doubtful that those buffoons could think beyond their next meal.....

Maybe this was another Tuskegee.

This will be nothing if O'Bamma is reelected! Under O'Bozocare alone MILLIONS of boomers will face death panels & denied treatment for cancer! Starvation will even affect O'Bamma VOTING kool-aid drinkers also. The EPA has been around a while, why did they allow this to go on so long? It"s called payoffs, and in O'BAMMAS SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST/LIBERAL world it will happen 100 fold and you won't even know about it....LIBIA is a good example of how the 2nd term of these Communist (O'Bama/CLINTON/JESTER JOE BIDEN/VAN DOUCH-BAG JONES) will be like...

The OFFICIALS responsible for the DELAY ought to be tried in court for assualt & if found guilty .

sentenced to DRINK THAT WATER for the rest of their lives along with their FAMILIES !

If they thought it was safe then give it to them in spades .

lee, comprehension and intelligence certainly isn't your strong point (typical for knee-jerk,brain-dead, psychoconservatives that scream "communist,socialist,liberal").

the STATE environmental agency covered it up, when the FEDERAL EPA (you know, the one currently under Obama?) learned of it, they took action immediately.

yep rooster, clearly what is needed here is more govt. intervention and regulations, so what if they are redundant, dont work, or are just plain old fashioned stupid, as long as they can skirt such silly notions as accountability and responsibility, that's all that really matters.

Scooter, just because the current system is broken doesn't mean we should eliminate regulation. If you cared at all for your health and for others, you would insist that it be fixed. Accountability? Once the lawsuits begin, heads will roll. Unfortunately for the families involved, the damage has already been done.

heads roll? ....never happen, lawyers will get richer..people will get a small sum of cash, then the water rates and tax's will go up to cover the cost. if the govt gets involved it will turn into"lets make a deal" just like the gulf oil spill.....

todd....no one suggests that we eliminate regulation. No one suggests that. When republicans talk about deregulation they mean.

"Lets look at all the regulations in place and see if they are worthwhile. If they are, then we should keep them. If they are outdated, overly intrusive vs. the benefit, or worthless, then lets get rid of them."

"no one suggests that we eliminate regulation. No one suggests that"

Bull@!$%#. You talk like a cornered Republican trying to squirm his way out of a dogma hole.

All necessary regulations were in place. How did they work for you! Obviously they didn't! Sowe need more? How about someone just do their job!

It takes funding to enforce environmental regulations. You can't keep cutting budgets and still expect to get complete enforcement or all regulations.

CmmnSns is right. Just like with the Gulf oil spill. The problem isn't laws and regs...it's the enforcement. And MMS was gutted by Bushco. Voila!!Deep Horizon! The same here...every state is battling budget problems, deficits and shortfalls largely due to tax cuts by bushco and the recession. I would be more comfortable having the EPA properly funded, authorized and staffed for things like these rather than a state or local bureaucrat who contracts this out to Bubba's Water Control Co. who may have a vested interest in determining that the water is safe. It's also preferable to have just one level of govt that handles things like these and have some consistency on standards and enforcement nationwide. Show me someone who waqnts to eliminate the EPA or OSHA, and I'll show you a fool or idiot. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

@todd

Sadly, no heads will roll. The taxpayers will build a $50 Million dollar R/O plant in the neighborhood/community to supply these people with water. No accountability, just the way republicans want it.

We need to make a distinction and be given a reality check.

The federal government wasn't to blame here. This was/is a state government matter of an agency in North Carolina dealing with the consequences of a locally-polluted water table that is leaching toxins into surrounding underground drinking sources, because a polluter that didn't care, didn't want to reveal what happened, so citizens in the area found out about it ...and after people came down with diseases like cancers, neurological disabilities, organ failure and such, and possibly died from it, and now they're demanding answers after reports on such pollution came to light.

As I stated in a previous post,

NC is one of the politically conservative, bible-belt states that many in their state don't want the "gov'mint," to interfere with their citizens or the affairs of their businesses. Some would argue that they got what they wanted, and this is a very unfortunate public health consequence of their voting against their own interests.

I feel bad for the victims, their surviving families, and hope they get compensation and health care for any future problems they experience as a result of their local water table pollution.

And if this state votes for Romney, it will set the example for their local politicians to further weaken the enforcement capabilities and well as reduce the budgets and the oversight of their state agencies to do anything about such problems now and in the future.

this is why the epa is a taxpayer waste of money.................. a failure, like o'bama!!!!!!!!!!!

How come every time some one suggest changing the regulations so the actually make sense, it is decried as "deregulation"? We don't need more regulation; we need to change the regulations until we find ones that work and stick to them.

And if this state votes for Romney, it will set the example for their local politicians to further weaken the enforcement capabilities and well as reduce the budgets and the oversight of their state agencies to do anything about such problems now and in the future.

Yes, the previous Democratic administration of NC proved the Democrats will do such an excellent job with this stuff there.... Not!

The builder should have known before he put up all those houses that an existing home had been tested positive for high levels of the contamination and an environmental impact study should have been demanded of him before building any more homes in that area.

The contamination had already spread 500 acres. Wonder who the builder knew in the EPA? It didn't take any additional personnel for the EPA to red flag that area and its files for building permits in that area, or to notify the owner of the property that the adjoining property had those contaminants.

How is the builder supposed to know that? Maybe we should add a regulation that before a builder can build a home, he must canvas the neighborhoods in a five mile radius and check all of their water before he can build a home.

How is the builder supposed to know that? Maybe we should add a regulation that before a builder can build a home, he must canvas the neighborhoods in a five mile radius and check all of their water before he can build a home.

The builder would know, just as any smart homeowner would know. Have the water tested. It is very easy to have done and is inexpensive. Unfortunately, not many people do it.

Hey Scremin...

For those arguing here that these people chose to live with poisoned water or who chose to build on it, nobody chooses to live with carcinogens in their water. The only people who live with those conditions either don't know about it, because somebody is hiding that information from them, or they really don't have a choice. In this country, it's almost always the former.

Choice implies having the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. You therefore don't have any choice if you don't have the information you need to make it. In this case, NC withheld that information... hence, no choice, whether you're a builder or a home-buyer. They didn't know. The whole purpose of Federal regulation of environmental contamination is to mandate disclosure of information needed by people to make a choice, something the states are manifestly failing to do.

Oh, and if builders built As-of-right and no Federal lands or infrastructure are impacted, there would be no requirement for an environment impact assessment. NEPA EISs are only required if a Federal agency is involved.. such as when there is a Federal wetland, Federal highway or actual government property touched by the development. State EISs are regulated by state law, and one presumes that, in this case, NC didn't require one.

I think that woodworker was toying with the idea that maybe someone with a vested interest in keeping this information quiet had some 'influence' with authorities.

Just imagine a developer sitting on a large tract of develop-able land just waiting for the prices of housing or whatever, to be at what they determine to be 'peak'. It hasn't 'peaked' yet so they still want to stand pat. All the sudden someone discovers that the water supply to that land is contaminated. What would news like that do to the developer's investment? I believe it's a safe bet it would probably just about destroy it. Developers being developers, always keep their ears to rail and always know and schmooze the right people. Their business is knowing what is going on with everything in their little sphere. They have dinner with officials, they invite them to barbecues, on hunting and fishing trips. They donate money to political campaigns, they donate land to community groups for their use....while keeping ownership of course. The list is only limited by their imagination. While there's no written contract for these things, they come with the implicit understanding that 'useful information' shouldn't be held back from them. So...I'm sure the developer discovered this occurrence very early on. Probably before just about anyone else. What to do? What to do?..... Ahhhhh.....then someone got an idea......let's try to keep this news from getting out and get that damned property developed ASAP!!

I know...I know...no self-respecting pillar of the community would ever stoop so low as to jeopardize peoples' health and safety for something as small as money....would they?

Call Erin Brockovich! DENR ans ESP have to be sued!

No, what we need are sensible regulations that can actually be understood and enforced. They need to be written in regular English and not in legalese so that the average person can understand them without needing to be able to parse out the nonsese filler material.

Right Tammy.....and while your at it, leave enough loopholes to drive a tractor trailer through them so that anyone with a lawyer can easily defeat them.

How about truly and willingly enforcing the laws?

One group campaigns and gets elected on the promise of doing something about this or that and tells their administration....stronger laws and enforcement against this or that. The next group gets into office and says we're against regulations but can't repeal them for one reason or another (usually because they were popular with too many voters)...so...quietly... just don't bother enforcing them. The gaps of relaxed enforcement between enforcement leaves great opportunity 'for getting all kinds of things done'. That's the problem...as I see it.

But Tammy's right. We absolutely must balance safety with cost. We have to. If we made cars perfectly safe, if we made drinking water perfectly safe, if we made everything perfectly safe, we couldn't afford to use any of it.

Wouldn't it be great to have cars no one could afford to drive, food no one could afford to eat and water no one could afford to drink? Safety is always a compromise. Always.

Nothing in the world is going to change that anytime soon. There comes a point of diminishing returns where more regulations do little or nothing to improve safety and cause costs to skyrocket. We have to find the place where they balance.

Arrested for dereliction of duty? How about Second Degree Murder???

How about adopting the attitude of "the buck stops with me." The only way ever to be 100% sure of anything is to do it yourself.

huskergal.....you know...I think I'll take your advice and run right over to the Middle-East and make sure everyone is abiding by the Nuclear Arms Treaties and the Chemical Weapons Agreements. Then I'll check on the Human Rights Agreements and then, The Free Trade Agreements ......after that........

Well, I think you might have gotten the point. Believe it or not....there are things the people should expect their governments to take care of for them.

Well, I think you might have gotten the point. Believe it or not....there are things the people should expect their governments to take care of for them.

Sorry, I believe in individual responsibility when it comes to my particular property. I have my water tested. I have the gas company come in yearly to test the furnace and my gas logs. I have the electric company check my wiring. It is up to me to keep my family safe and that means tests.

I trust the government in many areas, but not the personal safety of my family. On my land my husband is the President and I am the first Lady.

Don't you just love how that plastic plate dissolved before your very eyes in the video when it was sprayed with that chemical?

Just imagine what it does to your children s livers.

Well hello! They used to use TCE for removing caffeine in coffee. We washed our hands in it for decades to get flux and gease off.

That's because they're full of them.

well sure guys... it's pretty evident by the toxic waste they spew on here.

The real kicker is that we pay some very high tax rates for all of this protection.

I don't think it was chicken farms I think it was hog farms.

Yeah, thats the ticket..deregulate, dump the chemicals on the ground, hire them employees..when they get sick, dump them too. There's more where they came from, just another cog in the wheel of industry, expendable. Just like the good old days of the robber barons with the mansions on the hill and the shacks in the valleys.

as opposed to poverty? i would venture to say.....yep.....

Scooter: it's obvious that you don't have children.

Or money.

Or, a soul!

Scooter: I always find it ironic that liberals think the people who wish to keep what they have earned are "greedy", but yet the liberals who desperately want to get their hands on what someone else has earned, are somehow not greedy, or a thief.

Funny how that works. I'm always impressed by how generous liberals are with other people's money. I give far more to charity than Joe Biden ever has. He's the quintessential example of the liberal hypocrite who claims to want to take care of the poor....as long as he can do it without having to lift a finger himself to do it, and can use government spending other people's money

ConservativeNotRepublican,

First off Conservative, how would you know what Joe Biden gives to charity? And secondly, your Faux News spews talking points are getting rather old. Many progressives own businesses and are quite wealthy... let's just use Warren Buffet as one example. Yet they realize the importance of a social structure. Healthcare, schools, roads, and of course associated departments which oversee and try to guarantee some semblance of improvements and upkeep. You self-concerned republicans could care less about your neighbors, or fellow citizens. See... that's really the difference between a neo-con and a progressive. Now go back to your Fox News... we wouldn't want you to miss a single minute of Yawn Insanity or for that matter Lush Rimballs radio show! God forbid you wouldn't know what to think next. Oh and I think you're lying out your teeth about not being a republican... you reek of one!

PRober:

First off Conservative, how would you know what Joe Biden gives to charity?

How do I know? Hhhmmm, OH!, I've got it!! There's this thing called the internet where you can do research and look up different things. Though I have to admit, on this point, I really didn't have to use it since I already knew the answer, but just for your edification, here's one link for you. You might also take note that the source is ABC, and not Fox.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5791846&page=1

If you read the story, you'll note that Joe Biden gave an average of a whopping $369 dollars a year to charity over the last decade. Decade: That's 10 years. I beat that more than 20 fold in most years, much less just one, and my family income is far far less than Biden's.

Many progressives own businesses and are quite wealthy... let's just use Warren Buffet as one example.

That is true. And many of those same liberals who talk a good game in public do everything they can to reduce their tax bill in private. Just as every liberal on this thread who claims to want to pay more taxes will take advantage of every credit, deduction and loophole they can to reduce their own tax bill. Oh, and one more thing, Warren Buffett, who you apparently think has such noble motives, took his case to court in order to try and keep from paying a BILLION dollars in taxes.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-04-04/wall_street/31284723_1_top-federal-income-tax-warren-buffett-judge-learned-hand

Again, please note that the source is Business Insider, not Fox News. It may also shock you to know that Buffett flies on private jets and rides around in limousines. I will give him credit on the fact that he does own an older car and lives in a modest house that he bought a long time ago, but that is about as far as his "I'm one of the common people" image goes.

Yet they realize the importance of a social structure. Healthcare, schools, roads, and of course associated departments which oversee and try to guarantee some semblance of improvements and upkeep

I have no problem with government or the need for taxes. All I ask is that the government be honest and run efficiently, and not wasteful of the tax payer dollars. I am not the personal ATM for the government. I do not exist to serve the state. The Federal Government is NOT America. And the Federal Government that we have now is neither efficient or honest.

You self-concerned republicans could care less about your neighbors, or fellow citizens.

I'll put my charitable contributions up against yours if you wish. This year, mine will be about 10 grand. Last year it was 4 grand, the year before, it was 7 grand. In the last 2 weeks, I have spent over 15 hours of community service giving my time and the use of my personal sound reinforement equipment to a local school fundraiser.

The scout troop of which my son is a member is putting out over 3000 food collection bags next week to assist those who won't have much for Thanksgiving. I was one of the ones putting the bags together. I will be one of the ones distributing the 3000 bags, I will be one of the ones collecting the food, and one of the ones getting that food to the people who will see that it gets to those who need it.

Last week, I gave blood, something I do every couple of months. According to the regional blood center here, my particular blood type is used mostly for infants that need transfusions.

I could go on, but I the only time I ever mention things like this is when I get accused by someone, such as yourself, who has no idea as to what I might or might not be doing to help someone else. So please, before you go off half cocked, you might want to actually know what you're talking about.

Now go back to your Fox News... we wouldn't want you to miss a single minute of Yawn Insanity or for that matter Lush Rimballs radio show!

Okay, on this one ya got me. I watch Fox news, and occasionally listen to Rush. But there are other conservative talk show hosts that I like much more, such as Andrew Wilkow.

However, I notice that liberals who slam Fox news, never seem to get around to mentioning who it is they get their information from. Of course, the reason why is obvious, because if you gave your preferred source, it would most likely be a typical left wing organization. And why mention that when it's so much easier to pretend that there is some nebulous independent source of information that all liberals avail themselves of...but never seem to get around to mentioning.

By the way, on Fox, I also hear Bob Beckle, Mara Liason, Juan Williams, Alan Colmes, Susan Estrich, Geraldo Rivera, Lamont Hill, Lanny Davis, Al Sharpton and occasionally Michale Moore. So, there are ten liberals I can name off the top of my head that I see on Fox on a regular or semi regular basis who hold no political office. Now, name me just five non political office holding conservatives that appear on any other network on a regular or semi regular basis. Just FIVE. I bet you can't do it.

So, next time you decide to take me on, you'd better bring a lot more to the table than what you've shown me so far.

Hahahah from this....

"screw the EPA, shut 'er down!!! NO MORE BIG GOVERNMENT"

to this....

"Help us EPA, please HELP US, ITS THE GOVERNMENTS JOB!!!"

I agree that you can't have it both ways. Either you run the risk of stifling growth and the economy with too much regulation, or you run the risk of endangering people with too little regulation.

PutAmericaFirst: if a company can't grow economically without poisoning the residents in the area where it operates, it doesn't deserve to have any economic growth.

In North Carolina, the Democrats are clustered around the big cities like Raleigh and Charlotte. Wake Forrest is very close to Raleigh. The voters in WF are likely more Dems than Repubs. And this happened on the Dems watch.

PAF,

What about situations like this:

According to Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican (and supporter of wind energy), 5,000 wind-industry jobs statewide and locally-produced clean energy are proof of the benefits of federal policies that support wind power. According to the WSJ, “The [wind] production tax credit has spurred huge growth since it was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1992."

Not to mention there are plenty of other companies that cause little to no damage that are making money and helping the economy.

Rob,

What exact proof do you have that bureaucracy caused this? Of course the company that dumped the chemical is truly at fault, along with laws or lack of laws that should have helped to prevent this. In any case, the article states the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources was focused on “bigger issues.” That means either they really did have bigger issues but couldn't get to this one because of funding, they dropped the ball (and are basically lying), or that a little bit of both is true. Certainly we need to know what happened, but why do you assume they are lying? Again, though, this kind of dumping should never have happened in the first place.

oops, I meant to write "Of course the company that dumped the chemical is truly at fault, possibly along with laws or lack of laws that should have helped to prevent this"--the company, like many others, may have simply broken the law.

Many people will gladly vote for the death of the EPA..and their own death, this November. Yes we need more jobs, but can we work when we are dead or deadly ill. Funny the same people will vote to kill the healthcare act.

Halliburton assures you that it's perfectly safe, tough they won't tell you what's in it. And you can trust them. Really.

Gilboagirl-------Fracking is perfectly safe if you do not mind FLAMMABLE drinking water.

Ask the residents of Pavillion WY.,

Things like this will always happen. That is just like saying that if police and the justice system did their job, there would be no crime.

Ask the families of those killed in our embassy in Libya how the federal government never fails at anything.

Rob Scan,

You should also ask the families of the over 4000 people who lost their lives during the 9/11 attack.

The Toxic Avenger is nothing but a tree hugging communist democrat, how dare you ask for his help!

oh-brother:

And the Rominator is a brown earth, cut regulations no matter what the cost, whacko. Sooooo... what is your point? Care for some TCE Tea?

Some of what you say might be true, but it is illegal to do it as you describe. The only way that what you describe happens is if the company uses every last dollar on legal fees and still loses the lawsuit and they owe millions and millions in compensation. In order to pay the claim, they file for bankruptcy and liquidate everything. The owners could be another company that buys the liquidated assets and then reform. If that happens, the company will have lost millions and millions, if not billions.

This has nothing to do with politics or big business. This has to do with N.C. government simply not doing something very simple. All they needed to do was pick up the phone and call the residents, and letting them know the situation. People that are blaming this on Republicans, are being ignorant.

Worse, soap scum can best be taken off with many other non-toxic chemicals- like vinegar. Which dunderhead/ jarhead said/ordered TCE? Stupid in the first place, worse later. In 1960, I worked for a chemical company-- that became a superfund site later, and is still on the EPA's list. Awful then, deliberately done then, still bad NOW.

Very good point......

Bingo! The right wants no government regulations...until they do, then they scream when they're not there.

Excellent analysis of the typical ignorant, right leaning, uneducated American. They are their own worst enemy--and the country's as well...

Come on down to North Carolina. We have been under Democratic control for a long time. We have high personal income taxes, road taxes, sales taxes, personal property taxes, and real estate taxes. I paid less tax when I lived in Pennsylvania.

The people are coming here for the climate. It isn't for the jobs or to pay lower taxes.

If you give the government all the money they will spend all the money.

There needs to be a balance that makes sense, and that balance can't be left to the decision of the Bureaucracy because every government entity regardless it's value will act to perpetuate it's existence even when it serves no purpose at all.

They all hate the government until they need the government.

I have heard the applause during both the Republican Primary and for the current candidate whenever they talk about "getting rid of the EPA". God help us all if they get their way.

BS. It seems Republicans are the only ones that live in this world. You all seem think money is free and grows on trees. How many of you responding here can afford much more in taxes right now? If you can then why haven't you donated that money to the government? You seem to want to pay more in taxes. If you don't get a tax increase, why not donate some money to the government? Could it be that you think someone else besides you should pay more in taxes?

The sad truth is that any major increase in tax collection is going to have to be borne by the middle class in one form or another. Either by a direct increase in taxes, higher prices or lower wages and benefits.

Allmill: Why is it that liberals always equate getting rid of an agency with the reasoning that if you want to do away with that agency, it must mean you are against anything and everything that agency is responsible for?

This is a typical lie of the left. Is there something mystical about someone saying "they're from the Federal Government"? As if that gives them some superior power to deal with a problem. No, of course not, and yet the liberals will fawn and bow and scrape and praise almost government any federal environmental agency, no matter how inept and irresponsible they prove themselves to be. The EPA is a perfect example. It was the EPA who DIDN'T do their job on this, and yet the liberals won't dare blame them. So, who do they blame? Why, of course, "Mitt Romney." Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense in liberal la la land.

This is a perfect example of why the EPA should be done away with. I want to get rid of the EPA because it has NO constitutional authority to exist to begin with, not to mention they are inept. Does that mean I want contaminated water and air. NO!!

What it does mean is that I want the states to take over those functions in their own states.

There is nothing mystical about someone being from the Federal Government. The states have environmental people and engineers that are every bit as capable and competent as anyone from the Federal Government. And given this example, probably even more so. But liberals see it as almost magic that if someone is from the Federal Government that is somehow gives them special powers. Bullsh!t it does, it only means they are much farther removed from the problem than someone on the state level. The level that should be the one to deal with the problem.

The issue in NC is the result of the state agency choosing not to act because it had other priorities (which may be legitimate if its resources are limited.) The EPA did not get involved until the state called them in. This is what happens when the states are responsible for many of these functions and moreover results in widely varying regulations and outcomes.

I'm not necessarily against reduced taxes and regulations, but if that is what the country decides to do then people need to stop complaining (and suing) when suddenly they find themselves on the short end of a problem due to lack of funding.

you sound like a good little obarry clone!

Dave Lacks..., how do you figure Anita-2036926 sounds like an Obama supporter. Mitt has stated in three debates that he wants to shut down damn near every government agency and turn them over to the states. Quote, "The states will do a better job more efficiently and at less cost to the tax payers of America." Unquote.

You have Romnesia all of a sudden or are you a closet T-partier? You need government to manage programs like the EPA, FAA, The Military, the FDA, FTA (Fed Transportation Admin) and now the CCPA (Consumer Credit Protection Admin), and so on. You have to live under a flat rock not to think the rich, powerful, and connected will not stop at anything to preserve their wealth even if it means contaminating and killing American citizens to keep. Ask Charles and David Koch (The Kock Brothers) and their chemical billions. They are poisoning and killing plant life, wild life, and human life without blinking and don't give a flying flip about it. You think one of these states other than Califonia or New York can fight their money? Don't include Texas, they are probably in bed with them.

You don't have to wonder who I sound like because I voted early and it was for President Obama and Vice-president Biden.

You sound like a Mitt/Ryan clone. That means you lie to everyone all the time.

Anita,

If you run for office, I'm voting for you. You points are hitting the bulls-eye. Keep the faith.

This is a Surprise? Have rarely drank tap water even my Dogs .. Be smart people... Don't