Why so silent klamath 072408

Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
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Words from Webster

Why so silent?

Pioneer Press July 23, 2008 pioneerp@sisqtel.net, by Daniel Webster, Publisher

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined landscaping service company, Trees, Inc., $12,300 for allowing two pesticides to enter a tributary of the Klamath River after employees failed to follow pesticide label instructions -- which are violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Clean Water Act.

According to a press release I received this week, in April 2007, Trees, Inc. sprayed pesticides Direx 4L and Garlon 4 in a pool of water abutting Junior Creek, which feeds into the Klamath River on the Resighini Rancheria Tribal lands. Both pesticide labels prohibit applicators from applying the products directly to water or to areas where surface water is present.

"Klamath River watershed, from the Oregon border to the Pacific Ocean, supports several native fish species, including coho and steelhead salmon," said Alexis Strauss, director of the Water Division for the Pacific Southwest region. "The EPA is committed to working with the tribe and California to enforce federal laws to protect these valued resources."

Which brings me back to an article we published on our front page a few years ago, when we exposed the deplorable environmental damage the mega-marijuana gardens have on our local rivers. Daily, harmful chemicals are being dumped en mass in our rivers and their tributaries.

The odd part was that the "environmentalist" didn't seem to care. Literally, they didn't care and couldn't be bothered with the harm the marijuana growers are having on our region. Which begs the question: why would a tribe be so concerned about a landscaping company and yet our tribes don't give a flying rip about the drug cartels?

The answer is simple: There are local tribal leaders who are intimately involved in the marijuana industry. Plus, Arch-environmentalists Felice Pace and Petey Brucker can't complain about an industry they helped build in our region and are responsible for coddling it for decades.

It would be somewhat silly to turn yourself in to the EPA. No wonder they had no comment.