Pecan French Toast and the EPA
68Why?
Good morning breakfastpoppers. Today is Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Professor Stopthebull will be lecturing today about a small Pennsylvania town and the EPA. Let's prepare some delicious Pecan French Toast and head for class.
You will need 4 large eggs, 2/3 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 loaf Italian bread cut into 8 (1 inch) slices, 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 2 tablespoons orange zest. Since this recipe requires overnight preparation, you won't be eating it this morning. I'll have plenty of bagels, cream cheese and Irish Whiskeys to go around.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with orange juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Place the bread side by side in a large baking pan. Pour the egg mixture over bread and cover with platic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Tomorrow morning preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with butter and place the bread on the sheet. Sprinkle with pecans and orange zest. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve with butter and maple syrup.
Right after you place the bread in your fridge, grab your notebook and head for class.
Welcome students. Sometimes a 45 minute class is simply not enough time to discuss all the hanky- panky going on in our nation. There is a town in Pennsylvania that is in need of fresh water because residential wells were found to be tainted because of a natural gas drilling operation. The EPA promised the residents of Dimock a water delivery but a mere 24 hours later the delivery was canceled without explanation.
The EPA has assumed enormous unfettered power under the Obama administration and in many ways they answer to no one. Their response to questions about their abrupt refusal to deliver the water was the typical bureaucratic hogwash about "filling information gaps". In the meantime the residents of Dimock have no water to bathe, wash dishes or flush toilets.
In 2010 the Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. was banned from drilling in a 9 square mile area around the village. The company insists that they are not responsible for the tainted wells and that in fact, the water is safe. They received permission from state environmental regulators to halt the delivery of water to the community more than a month ago. The EPA was supposed to deliver the water, but had an abrupt change of plans.
This is a fairly typical result of big bloated government in action, or should I say inaction. The EPA should deliver the water immediately. The time for assessment is over. Deliver the water and help these people through a difficult time. For an agency with unfettered power, the EPA sits on the sidelines when it comes to a clear case of a town in need.
The government and its agencies work for the people of this nation. They are answerable to us. We pay their salaries. The EPA owes the town of Dimock an explanation for their irresponsible behavior. Who pulled the plug on the water delivery and why? While all this is getting sorted out, the people still need the water to carry on their daily lives. Deliver the water first and assess and explain after...Class Dismissed...POP...
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The person or persons who made the decision not to deliver the water should be fired. It's that simple. Great example of government waste. So, if we have to wait until tomorrow to eat the french toast, I guess this mornings breakfast is liquid, right? So, I am off to the bar. BARTENDER........
Good Morning Dex,
The bigger the government grows, the less responsive they are and the less effective they are. I can't believe that anyone would want this type of government. See you at the Inn, Dex. I'll save you a seat.
Good morning taxlarry
You know it really is that simple but this bloated bureaucracy doesn't understand simple. They enjoy confusing the issues by writing regulations and forming committees that act just like handcuffs on progress. it is maddening. I feel more comfortable at the Inn where life is simple and people are honest. See you there.
Pop,
This is Big Government in action. They want all the power with none of the responsibility. They give orders well but dont deliver on promises. Hopefully the American people will learn this lesson.
Good morning Tom,
The next election will tell the tale about the American people. If Obama remains in power then the country you and I both love is doomed. I have never felt this way before. See you later at the Inn, Tom.
POP: This is government at its finest! Where is the logic? Bring the water, then decide who is responsible. I'm with you. Off to the bar, where there are logical intelligent decidion-making people. Save me a seat....
Good morning Pino,
Did you say logic? Do you mean common sense? Are you kidding? This is the government we are talking about. See you at the Inn. I need some good company.
Obama is using the EPA as the end around run for the failure of the Cap & Tax bill to pass even though his party had both houses of Congress at the time they started in on it. The EPA needs direct, and I mean direct, Congressional oversight in formulating any new regulations that harm this economy. I respect the environment but also am aware that the well being of the human beings that inhabit this planet needs to be foremost.
The Frog
Pop, government employees suck, they see a tax payer walking in the door and think "great what's this ass hat want" not hey here come one of them peoples dat pay my sala... um sala,,,, um check thing, I might should hep them? dumb rat bastards, see you at the Inn, 50
The logic applied here is akin to coming upon an auto accident and attempting to determine how much property damage has been done before concerning yourself with the people involved. The EPA wants the Oil & Gas industry to look as bad as possible so that their efforts to ban fracturing in the strata surround wells can be implemented more easily. Fracturing has been around the industry for ages but now the rabid environmentalists have taken it on as their "new cause". Between the EPA and the NLRB, the people of America will be pretty much guaranteed to victimized. WB
Good Morning Frog Prince,
The EPA has an ever expanding role and their reach is everywhere. They are an extra arm for Obama. What he can't do without Congress he gets done with his little army. As for this instance, there is no excuse on the planet to deny these people water. See you at the Inn. It's safer and saner there.
Good morning 50,
Nobody says it better than you. To the Inn with you. I'll be there soon.
Good Morning Wayne,
I agree, if the town shrivels up and dies then it will make great headlines and give the EPA justification to ban all oil and gas drilling. Government is all about keeping people in line and very little else. See you at the Inn, Wayne. Bring some of your poetry, I need to relax!
Water is a precious resource and we are blessed to live in an area where we have an abundance of good water. My well is 108 deep and has a 40 gallon per minute output. I have had it tested per the requirement of EPA and it is so pure we don't even need any filtering. I do not take this for granted and consider myself blessed when I read an article such as yours. The EPA and DENR who are supposed to be watch dogs over the environment, in many cases create more strife and hardships than are necessary. The residents of Green River have done a pretty good job of taking care of their water for over 200 years and continue to do so in spite of EPA and DENR who sometime insist on saddling land owners with rules that are sometimes burdensome and lack common sense.
Good afternoon Fiddleman,
People banning together to do a job are ten times more effective than government bureaucracy. The people of this town are suffering and the government is turning a blind eye to the problem. Perhaps they want it to get worse so that they can emphasize the evils of drilling. See you at the Inn. We really need to catch up.
The EPA just banned any new mines near the Grand Canyon. Not "in" the Grand Canyon, but "near" it. As a result, even more jobs are lost to Arizona!
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-11/uraniu
We were warned that the left intended to use the EPA as a hammer to kill hated capitalism and industry when it was first proposed, but we ignored those warnings. Now the EPA as become a tyranny unto itself.
Little Sister With Giant Brain,
If the environmental protection agency delivers fresh water, then how could people get sick? If they don't deliver water, the people will eventually start to drink their tap water. Then if they DO by chance gets sick. The environmental freaks can say "See I told you America. You need us butting into your affairs!"
Am I sounding like one of those conspiracy freaks? Man, I hope not! Actually most of the people on the left are cool. It's the loud mouths on the FARa left that make them all all look like kooks. Having said that, I don't trust those on the far left because Obama is going to need a lot of help in this election. So if they just happen to kill a small town full of folks, it's all good. We know they can make dead people vote Liberal. Wow! I really AM starting to sound paranoid! Hey, you never can tell. YO, it's Wednesday already! Let's get oiled at the Inna tonight. I've got some new dirty jokes.
Jim
Good afternoon Will,
Yes, the EPA is asserting itself and inserting itself in ways it was never designed to do. Obama uses the agency to enact stuff he could never get passed in Congress. See you at the Inn, unless the EPA closes them down for non-compliance of rules that have yet to be written.
Dear Big Bro,
You aren't paranoid, you are just smart enough to know that when it comes to this administration (and others too) almost anything is possible. The EPA has extended its influence over areas it was never meant to control. Obama granted them this power because it is a very convenient way to accomplish what he wants without involving Congress (you know those people we elected to represent us). I'm on my way to the Inn. Getting hammered sounds a whole lot better than getting clobbered by the government!
What we need, bp, is a new EPA - Extra Providential Assistance - that will protect us, the citizens, from the current E.P.A.
Congress needs to completely defund the EPA
This is just so Shocking that this could go on here in our Country, when Help is needed. Shame on them. I agree with the statement, they should no longer be Funded...Congress are you Listening...You should be!
Good evening drbj,
Now that's a great idea. While we are at it we need a Congress to protect us from Congress and a Department of Education to protect us from the current one and on and on we go. Head for the Inn, one bar is more than enough!
Dear vrajavala,
Or clip their wings, but it highly doubtful that either one will happen unless Obama is defeated. See you at the Inn.
Dear b.Malin,
There is no excuse for their inaction. There seems to be some disagreement about whether the wells are really tainted. Okay, deliver the water and then straighten things out. This is just another example of our government hard at work making life harder. See you at the Inn. Bring Lover Man.
How about having the owners and managers of this Natural Gas drilling operation come to town with their families and drink the water? They say there is no contamination, so this should not be a problem for them. If they are willing to do this, there would be no need for the water delivery at all. The water could be turned back on and everyone including the EPA would be happy.
Water testing is not that difficult, nor does it take a long time to get the results. Either the water is unsafe and the water delivery needs to happen, or the water is safe and no water delivery is required. How hard is that?
Dear Old Poolman,
It isn't hard, but apparently resolving this quagmire is just too much for the EPA. The company was supplying water to the families affected but they applied for permission to stop delivering water with the EPA. Permission was granted and the EPA was going to start delivery until they abruptly changed their mind. The whole situation is very strange, as you say. The water supply is tainted or it is not. Equally strange is the fact that the EPA has no comment about the change in plans. See you at the Inn where the water is clean and the drinks are better.
Pops-
I find the whole situation odd- after spending 10+ years in the env feld- anytime one of my clients impacted private wells we had to run out and put in a treatmen system on behalf of our clients and PA has alwys been rather "anal" with its regs and their enforcement. Why the state would ever agree to covering the costs or even the EPA cover the costs is beyond standard procedures or standard logic...we can go over it at the pub
TH
Good Morning tom,
The entire situation is bizarre in my view. Maybe you can explain to me how there can possibly be a controversy about whether or not a well is contaminated. It either is or it isn't!
POp,
i did some research nto this and if i had to take a guess- as is normal - the gas co must have been testing the 9-0 families homes and gotten acceptable results- BTW PA has really specific water quality regulations however the EPA can supercede the PA regulators. I saw the drilling companies sampled the wells and evidently got results below thresholds for action.the huff-puff post article said "tests were carried out by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in 2010 and Cabot in September 2011." So I am guessing the levels dropped below action levels and so the "water was determined to be safe to drink... My guess is that the "clean water "has a taste odor or unusual texture that is deemed "nasty/unpalatable by the homeowners.
so thats my take anymore questions?
TH
Good Morning tom,
Great research and I thank you. Now that is a problem. If the water is deemed safe but disgusting, do the homeowners have any options?
Yes the pADEp regs do have a rider about inate water quality non analytical parameters but being that the aquifer IS USED the moststringint standards should be used-used aquifer residential standard- th only thing that could mess this up would be the total suspended solids-which would be increased due to the drilling activities. It is puzzling why the used aquifer low mscas were not used unless the water quality was already poor before hand....\puzzling
TH
Thanks again tom, for the explanation. I wonder why the EPA refuses to explain their actions. It shouldn't be that diificult.
jobs?
THe gas industry keeps alot of folks w jobs in PA- a swing state....hmmmmm.
Incompetance- The EPA GUYS I know are lets just say more theoretical n less practical in their applications...
TH
Good Morning tom,
That seems to be the crux of the matter. The EPA has been granted enormous powers and they need their wings clipped.
Remind me, does the P in EPA stand for Protection or Pollution? And is it their job to pollute (protect?) the environment or the people who live in the environment? In these Bass Awkward (fish flopping) times we live in, it is difficult to keep straight just exactly who is doing what to whom, and why.
Hopefully somebody gets something other than self-heating water to those folks.
Dear FitnezzJim,
The P in EPA stands for pathetic!!!!!!Get to the Inn!!!!
WRONG !!!! P stands for Procrastination...or possibly pinheads
Good Morning tom,
I stand corrected! See you later at the Inn.
Dexter Yarbrough Level 7 Commenter 4 months ago
Hi Pop! Many government agencies are ass-backward when it comes to providing service. Sometimes they forget about THE PEOPLE and focus on bureaucracy. Thanks for bring the information forward. Shame on the EPA.