Imagine this. You buy a vacant lot in a residential subdivision across the road from a small lake. The lot is zoned for residential building. It is surrounded by other homes and homes being built. You submit your plans and blueprints and receive a building permit.
You start grading the property to build a home.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps. of Engineers show up and accuse you of building on a “wetland”. The EPA issues what is known as a “compliance order”. You must stop all building. You must restore the land to its natural state. You must replace and plant trees. You must place a fence around the land and maintain the property in a pristine condition.
You have no right to a pre-enforcement challenge of the order. You must comply with the order or be sued by the EPA and face fines between 35-75 thousand dollars per day.
“Unlike other regulations and enforcement orders, the EPA under clean air and water laws can issue an order without giving the recipient a chance to challenge it in court before the agency initiates a lawsuit for noncompliance.” (IBT)
You are punished by being forced to spend money to correct an unproven accusation of a violation of the law- no probable cause or preponderance of the evidence. No way for you to prove or argue your case until the EPA decides to sue you.
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