Environmental Concerns Prevent Border Agents From Filling Dangerous Drug-Smuggling Tunnels

I am not a “HELL YEAH! EFF THE ENVIRONMENT!” kind of conservative. In fact, that kind of attitude really, REALLY bothers me.

I’m an avid road tripper, hiker, camper, and bird and wildlife watcher. I LOVE America, from sea to shining sea,  and because of that, I think it’s our duty as HUMAN BEINGS to protect and preserve her God-given bounty.

Of course I’m a practical, reasonable person, so I believe in utilizing land as we see fit. But people who litter or purposely harm nature? People who think it’s funny to harm wildlife or destroy natural habitats?

Screw you. You’re a scumbag. God GAVE us this land to use and to nurture. Think about that the next time you mindlessly throw garbage out of your car window (I see it all the time. Few things p*ss me off more.)

This is not a “climate change” thing. This is a “common sense” thing. I have no interest living in a dumpster, do you?

Anyway… as you can tell, I’m all about the environment, and I stand by it. But this? This is where being an environmentalist gets a bad name.

According to Fox News: 

Environmental red tape is causing “long delays” for border agents as they try to fill tunnels used to smuggle people and dangerous drugs into the U.S. from Mexico, according to border officials and Republican lawmakers who have discussed the problem with agents.

Frustrated agents complain the lengthy federal review process can stall critical tunnel-plugging efforts for months after passageways are first discovered.

The tunnels are being used to move people, illegal drugs and even fake pharmaceuticals. But regulations stemming from laws like the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are putting “remediation” on hold.

OMG close them off IMMEDIATELY.

PRIORITIES, PEOPLE.

I mean… this is coming from someone who just went on an environmental rant.

Again…PRIORITIES.

“I heard firsthand accounts from our Border Patrol agents that environmental red tape is hindering their ability to secure the border,” Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, told Fox News this week.

Bishop, along with Arkansas GOP Rep. Bruce Westerman, traveled to the Arizona border in February to meet with border agents and discuss how environmental laws and regulations are impacting security. Bishop, who has legislation aimed at addressing these issues, said they learned of the “significant delay in remediating illicit tunnels,” a process where they are filled with gravel and concrete.

UGH UGH UGH.

Fill! Them! Up!

A Customs and Border Protection official confirmed to Fox News they’ve encountered “long delays” in remediating tunnels, acknowledging environmental regulations make up a “good portion of the delay.”

The official said other delays come with “clearing out a tunnel, mapping out the tunnel underground to know where to remediate from above, getting funding for the remediation and fulfilling a contract to a construction company to carry out the remediation.”

One particularly protracted response revolved around a sophisticated border tunnel — the length of three football fields — discovered in the town of Naco, Ariz., in February 2015. Photos show the tunnel complete with wooden supports and a cement shaft with a hydraulic lift.

Fox News learned it took between nine months and a year before it was fully remediated. Agents were told it was because of environmental concerns.

I don’t understand how ANYONE can say “Oh, I know they’re smuggling FENTANYL thought those tunnels but… you know… the wetland.”

C’mon folks. You’re making it REALLY HARD to get people on my “conservative environmentalist with realistic expectations” train.

While this played out during the Obama administration, officials say agents are still encountering these kinds of delays under the current administration.

“Border security should never take a backseat to the EPA, when you consider the dangerous drugs that come into this country, such as fentanyl,” Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, said in an interview. “That tunnel was assuredly used to bring fentanyl into this country, and other dangerous drugs. They don’t use tunnels like that simply to bring in illegal immigrants. They use those for their high-dollar products, such as illicit drugs.”

Dear President Trump: look in to this STAT.