THE LONG ARM OF THE EPA

Power grabs on the part of the federal government continue apace and at an escalating rate of acceleration. The new EPA rule was quietly announced last week in the Federal Register.

From the Washington Times (dated July 8, 2014):

The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly floated a rule claiming authority to bypass the courts and unilaterally garnish paychecks of those accused of violating its rules, a power currently used by agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service [which puts the burden of proof on the debtor, not on the federal agency].

[...]

...[T]he threat of garnishing wages would be a powerful incentive for people to agree to expensive settlements rather than fight EPA charges.

EPA officials did not respond to repeated questions by The Washington Times about why they thought it was necessary to garnish people's wages.

The EPA announced the plan last week in a notice in the Federal Register, saying federal law allows it "to garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order."...

Read more details about the above HERE.