Poll of the Day > Accidentally killing birds isn't a crime, says Trump administration.

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WastelandCowboy
12/27/17 8:56:40 PM
#1:


https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/27/573845851/accidentally-killing-birds-isnt-a-crime-says-trump-administration

The Trump administration says it will no longer criminally prosecute companies that accidentally kill migratory birds. The decision reverses a rule made in the last weeks of the Obama administration.

A legal memo from the Department of the Interior posted Friday declares that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act applies only to purposeful actions that kill migratory birds, and not to energy companies and other businesses that kill birds incidentally.

"Interpreting the MBTA to apply to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of Damocles over a host of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 penalty for each and every bird injured or killed," the memo says.

The memo is written by Daniel Jorjani, Interior's principal deputy solicitor, a longtime adviser to libertarian billionaire Charles Koch.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates more than 30 million birds die each year in collisions with power lines and communications towers, and hundreds of thousands more in oil pits and wind turbines.

In its final weeks, the Obama administration issued a legal opinion stating that the law does include the incidental killing of birds, but in February, the Trump administration suspended that opinion pending review.

The National Audubon Society said the Trump administration's interpretation guts the treaty and runs counter to decades of legal precedent and conservation principles. "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the most important conservation laws we have," the group says.

The law protects more than 1,000 bird species, according to the society, because it requires industries to take certain steps to protect them, like covering tar pits and marking transmission lines.

"We just don't want to lose any incentive for the industry to come to the table and work through this with us," David O'Neill, the society's chief conservation officer, told The Washington Post. "And the solutions are out there."

At least one industry group praised the administration's decision.

"Over the last few years, the management of 'take' under MBTA has been riddled with flawed decisions that have created massive uncertainty," Tim Charters, senior director of government affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association, told the Post. "This common-sense approach ensures that lawful activities are not held hostage to unnecessary threats of criminalization."

BP pleaded guilty to violating the act with its actions related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of its settlement, the oil company agreed to pay $100 million to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, money that was used for wetlands restoration and conservation well beyond the Gulf region where the spill occurred.

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WastelandCowboy
12/27/17 8:57:07 PM
#2:


Renewable energy projects have also been found in violation. In 2013, Duke Energy pleaded guilty to violating the act in connection with the deaths of two golden eagles at its wind projects in Wyoming, in what the Justice Department said was the "first ever criminal enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for unpermitted avian takings at wind projects."

The utility company was sentenced to pay fines, restitution and community service totaling $1 million. It was also placed on probation for five years. It is required to implement an environmental compliance plan aimed at preventing bird deaths at the company's four commercial wind projects in the state.

Collin O'Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, told the Post that neither administration had gotten it right: The interpretation was too broad before, and now it is too narrow.

"We're seeing the whipsaw from one extreme to the other," he told the newspaper, saying that in terms of Interior's energy policies, "one year in, there's been no balance. If the choice is between energy and conservation, energy always wins."


"Oh shit, sorry. Our bad!" (Not really, lol).
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Lokarin
12/27/17 8:59:10 PM
#3:


Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.
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Hop103
12/27/17 9:06:50 PM
#4:


Ok, if that's the case, then help me solve my energy woes by letting people have wind turbines in their yard in city limits.
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Zeus
12/27/17 9:10:41 PM
#5:


WastelandCowboy posted...
Collin O'Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, told the Post that neither administration had gotten it right: The interpretation was too broad before, and now it is too narrow.


Sounds about right.
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Questionmarktarius
12/27/17 9:56:01 PM
#6:


Hop103 posted...
Ok, if that's the case, then help me solve my energy woes by letting people have wind turbines in their yard in city limits.

Yes please.
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Metal_Mario99
12/27/17 10:01:45 PM
#7:


Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.
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Mead
12/27/17 10:04:15 PM
#8:


Why should it be a crime?
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Lokarin
12/27/17 10:09:43 PM
#9:


Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.


Who builds a wind turbine while drunk?
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helIy
12/27/17 10:19:32 PM
#10:


WastelandCowboy posted...
hangs the sword of Damocles

this anecdote does not fit at all here

WastelandCowboy posted...
The National Audubon Society said the Trump administration's interpretation guts the treaty and runs counter to decades of legal precedent and conservation principles. "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the most important conservation laws we have," the group says.

and why is everything a;ways the "most important" when it comes to these sort of things

oh, you want to let it so a company can kill ants? nope. that act is the most important act of all the acts to ever have been enacted.
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Muffinz0rz
12/27/17 10:32:11 PM
#11:


Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.

Drinking while driving is a crime
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Questionmarktarius
12/27/17 10:33:07 PM
#12:


Lokarin posted...
Who builds a wind turbine while drunk?

Is that a dare?
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Krazy_Kirby
12/27/17 11:08:53 PM
#13:


darwin at work
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Metal_Mario99
12/28/17 12:29:48 AM
#14:


Lokarin posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.


Who builds a wind turbine while drunk?

You didn't specify the kind of accident.
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Metal_Mario99
12/28/17 12:30:18 AM
#15:


Muffinz0rz posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.

Drinking while driving is a crime

Yes, but I'm assuming that the drunk driver didn't deliberately run that guy over.
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Muffinz0rz
12/28/17 12:34:51 AM
#16:


Metal_Mario99 posted...
Muffinz0rz posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.

Drinking while driving is a crime

Yes, but I'm assuming that the drunk driver didn't deliberately run that guy over.

So the driver shouldn't get charged for a crime?
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Metal_Mario99
12/28/17 12:39:55 AM
#17:


Muffinz0rz posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Muffinz0rz posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.

Drinking while driving is a crime

Yes, but I'm assuming that the drunk driver didn't deliberately run that guy over.

So the driver shouldn't get charged for a crime?

You said that accidents aren't crimes. I corrected you. That's all.
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Muffinz0rz
12/28/17 12:41:19 AM
#18:


Metal_Mario99 posted...
You said that accidents aren't crimes

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Metal_Mario99
12/28/17 12:44:51 AM
#19:


Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

Okay, Lokarin said it. Whatever.
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GanonsSpirit
12/28/17 12:46:33 AM
#20:


Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

Manslaughter is an accidental crime.
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Metal_Mario99
12/28/17 12:47:32 AM
#21:


GanonsSpirit posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

Manslaughter is an accidental crime.

That's what I'm saying.
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joemodda
12/28/17 1:02:00 AM
#22:


Bird lives don't matter it seems.

https://ci.memecdn.com/2407103.jpg
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shadowsword87
12/28/17 1:03:32 AM
#23:


Who is going to label when something is an "accident"? The company?
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Zeus
12/28/17 1:06:11 AM
#24:


Lokarin posted...
Who builds a wind turbine while drunk?


Rick Sanchez? #WhatPartOfBlackoutDrunkDon'tYouUnderstand?

helIy posted...
and why is everything a;ways the "most important" when it comes to these sort of things


We live in a pretty dramatic world, tbh.

joemodda posted...
Bird lives don't matter it seems.

https://ci.memecdn.com/2407103.jpg


Considering that chicken is one of the most widely consumed meats in this country...
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adjl
12/28/17 1:24:26 AM
#25:


Mead posted...
Why should it be a crime?


Because it causes environmental harm. It's conceptually similar to limiting what companies are allowed to dump into bodies of water, in that such regulations are meant to limit the harm done to the local ecosystem. That's not to say that companies should be held responsible for all bird deaths that result from their operations, but requiring a certain degree of due diligence isn't particularly unreasonable.

Basically, the comment that the previous interpretation was too broad and this one is too narrow seems right to me.
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shadowsword87
12/28/17 1:29:48 AM
#26:


Oh s***, this is including oil spills.
So oil companies wouldn't be legally obligated to help out. They probably still will as a big PR move, but it will be half of what they would have paid otherwise.
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Zeus
12/28/17 2:28:56 AM
#27:


shadowsword87 posted...
Oh s***, this is including oil spills.
So oil companies wouldn't be legally obligated to help out. They probably still will as a big PR move, but it will be half of what they would have paid otherwise.


Pretty sure they'd be obligated to clean for countless other reasons. It's not like they just repealed every environmental act on the books or something.
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shadowsword87
12/28/17 2:32:02 AM
#28:


Zeus posted...
Pretty sure they'd be obligated to clean for countless other reasons. It's not like they just repealed every environmental act on the books or something.


It's still one less source of income to help out.
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Krazy_Kirby
12/28/17 4:28:56 AM
#29:


Metal_Mario99 posted...
Muffinz0rz posted...
Metal_Mario99 posted...
Lokarin posted...
Protip: Accidents aren't criminal.

It is if you accidentally run over somebody while drinking.

Drinking while driving is a crime

Yes, but I'm assuming that the drunk driver didn't deliberately run that guy over.


but they deliberately drove drunk, so it wasnt an accident
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Cold_Dreamerz
12/28/17 2:04:47 PM
#30:


....is he just reversing all of Obamas shit out of spite or something? First the shooting hibernating bears bullshit, and now this.

Honestly whats the point?
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Questionmarktarius
12/28/17 2:06:03 PM
#31:


Cold_Dreamerz posted...
....is he just reversing all of Obamas shit out of spite or something?

Pretty much, yeah.
That's the inherent quirk of a two party system: the initial course of action is to undo everything the other guys did.
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WastelandCowboy
12/28/17 3:18:04 PM
#32:


Cold_Dreamerz posted...
....is he just reversing all of Obamas shit out of spite or something? First the shooting hibernating bears bullshit, and now this.

Honestly whats the point?

Reportedly, it's because Obama mocked Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4
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Kyuubi4269
12/28/17 4:25:57 PM
#33:


Hop103 posted...
Ok, if that's the case, then help me solve my energy woes by letting people have wind turbines in their yard in city limits.

Noise pollution and being an eyesore are the arguments against that, not birbs.
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I've seen some stuff
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Smarkil
12/28/17 5:26:16 PM
#34:


WastelandCowboy posted...
Cold_Dreamerz posted...
....is he just reversing all of Obamas shit out of spite or something? First the shooting hibernating bears bullshit, and now this.

Honestly whats the point?

Reportedly, it's because Obama mocked Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4


Thanks Obama
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