Gulf Coast Web of Environmental Laws

[Ben]

I thought this was interesting for two reasons. One, because of where the story is focused. One generally thinks of places like CA, OR, and WA first when thinking of areas with an overabundance of environmental rules. Secondly, the story seems to infer that a lot of these laws are state enforced, which again is almost counter-intuitive given the business orientation of the Gulf Coast.

And to immediately veer my thread, this kinda lines up with what I've said here before about laws in general: Every member of APS, and most every adult in the US, is a criminal and has committed one or more misdemeanors or felonies. We just didn't know about it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/26/study-finds-gulf-states-are-biggest-targets-government-overcriminalization/?test=latestnews

[Jamisjockey]

Being a saltwater fisherman, I deal with this *expletive deleted*it all the time.  NOAA makes blanket rulings on seasons and bag limits that are horribly arbitrary.
Red snapper season is more contentious down here then gun control.

[Ben]

Being a saltwater fisherman, I deal with this *expletive deleted* all the time.  NOAA makes blanket rulings on seasons and bag limits that are horribly arbitrary.
Red snapper season is more contentious down here then gun control.

Be especially wary if you're inside a national marine sanctuary. They have some incredibly outrageous rules that include penalties of up to $100K per day per violation in fines, including for stuff like throwing the last bite of your sandwich overboard. Fisheries will often use sanctuary regulations on violations within the sanctuary since they will more easily bring in bigger fines. Which, sadly, is a lot of what this type of enforcement is about - much like drug asset seizures, it's about bringing in money to continue funding enforcement.