Originally Posted by
alloy2
I believe the EPA and OSHA have no state boundary's when it comes to enforcing regulations.
There are different levels of government alloy. They all have their areas of responsibility and respective roles to play. It's best if all the different levels try to work together for the purpose of serving the people. It's also important that the different levels stay out of each other's way.
At the end of the day .... it involves some complicated ideas about where power should rightly reside and the preservation of democracy. Federal law doesn't necessarily reflect the will of the people of a given state or region of the country.
Most states have an
Environmental
Protection
Agency called the
Department of
Environmental
Protection. Acronyms federal EPA and state DEP respectively. Enforcement of the environmental laws seems to happen more at the state and local level in my experience. That's the way it should be as it more accurately reflects the will of the people in that state or municipality.
Most environmental problems that come up can be handled at the local or state level. It's a relatively rare thing for the the full force and power of the U.S. Federal government to be called in to handle a situation. Big things are apt to start happening when those guys roll into town.
You would be surprised though. Most of the time it's less about law enforcement and more about lending the financial support that will be needed to address a problem that has come up. That comes in the form of grants and loans that will be needed to tackle a project. It's a positive thing and not a negative thing. More carrot and less stick.
My apologies Mike. This thread should rightfully be about you and processing window AC's. I just wanted to take a moment to explain to alloy why his picture as a Canadian citizen isn't an accurate reflection of the reality on the ground here in the United States. At least not here in the State of Maine.
The situation might be different for greytruck. It could be that the DEP in his state is a bit more laid back about the laws and such. It would depend on the will of the people and the state legislature where he is.
It's all good !
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