The bill that would exempt Homeland Security from all environmental laws within a 100 mile border around the U.S. is making progress in Congress. If passed, it means that the border patrol would have free rein to build roads, telecommunication systems, fences and anything else deemed necessary for security -- never mind the Wilderness Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Even though most of the border security problems are on the U.S. Mexico border, House Bill 1505 would also take affect Voyageur's National Park, the Superior National Forest and the BWCA. It passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources earlier this month.
The Republican representatives who say that the federal lands along the border are prime areas for crime and drug running, and that the border patrol needs authority. But other federal agencies and environmental groups say the law would give Homeland Security unfettered power.
The Senate now has a companion bill that allow those powers only in border states with Mexico. But if it did become law for the entire country, it would only aggravate conflicts between the border patrol and those living on Minnesota's border with Canada. Environmental groups in Minnesota say that the border patrol has already contributed to damage inside the BWCA with snowmobiles, chainsaw and motor use.
