I just read that city leaders have entered into a contract with a consultant for $380,000 to deal with state and federal regulators. Once again consultants are hired to fix a problem that should have never occurred in the first place.

Why is it that those charged with handling programs need assistance in getting out of situations? If those charged with running programs can't handle those programs....get rid of them. Let's hire a consultant to see if we need a consultant....it's only tax payer dollars.

John C. Schultz

* * *

I wonder if the consultant is related or connected to someone in city government? This will lead to a tax like other cities. Austin, TX passed their own carbon tax. The EPA is the new carbon ministry. We need a Constitutional consultant to consult our city and state leaders. The state needs to nullify federal mandates, under the 10th amendment.

"We federated for foreign affairs only all domestic affairs are left to the States, or to the people." Thomas Jefferson

Chuck Davis

* * *

After a little searching and a couple of phone calls, I found out a
little more about this situation. The fact is that the city faces
millions of dollars in fines, mostly related to the failure of the
wastewater system during this winter's flooding. The retained firm,
JJG Group of Atlanta, is well-regarded in the field of stormwater runoff management and other fields of civil engineering. It seems quite wise to spend $380,000 to avoid a potentially embarrassing
penalty of $10 million or more.

Mr. Davis, have you not read your history or constitutional law? The
idea of "nullification" is itself a nullity. States have never had
the authority to nullify federal acts. That power is reserved to the
federal judiciary, and they have done so a handful of times upon
petition of a state or municipality.

Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Stone wrote: "The amendment
states but a truism that all is retained which has not been
surrendered. There is nothing in the history of its adoption to
suggest that it was more than declaratory of the relationship between the national and state governments as it had been established by the Constitution before the amendment or that its purpose was other than to allay fears that the new national government might seek to exercise powers not granted, and that the states might not be able to exercise fully their reserved powers..." United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100,
124 (1941)

In other words, the 10th Amendment has never given states or cities
the authority to nullify a federal act on their own just because that
act is disliked. I'm also quite amused that you buttressed your entire argument on a quote that Thomas Jefferson never actually said. I've scoured every collection of President Jefferson's
quotations that I could get my hands on and found no reference to this
quote. It's not in any of his collected writings or letters. Do you
have a primary source?

Lucas S. McNeeley

* * *

Mr. McNeely is partially correct.

It is true that the Chattanooga Public Works Dept. has uniformly and consistently hired environmental engineers and attorneys to address regulatory noncompliance for utility operations from Atlanta, GA, and subcontracted to a Kentucky firm. This is the same Atlanta/Kentucky group that erroneously recommended over the top stormwater fee increases in a rate study that clearly missed the mark as a viable option. The controversy and outcome speaks for itself.

The regulatory authority to issue fines is fully delegated to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation by a EPA. Tennessee is one of a number of states that are completely delegated by EPA to be the regulatory authority. While it may sound better for funding to say EPA very loud, the truth of the matter is that the state of Tennessee will be handling environmental compliance. EPA's water division has publically and formally stated that TDEC will be handling these issues.

The notion that the city has to travel to Atlanta to find talented professionals in engineering and legal to handle environmental compliance problems is absolutely comical, and at the same time highly offensive to Chattanooga's professional firms that have a 30-year plus track record of compliance resolution working with TDEC. The TDEC office that oversees Chattanooga is in Chattanooga, not Atlanta.

Chattanooga is rich with environmental engineering and law firms that have an entire host of support staff located in Chattanooga, where the Atlanta firms do not.

Shame on the City Public Works Dept. for ignoring the Chattanooga's engineers and legal professionals in Chattanooga that are clearly the most qualified.

April Eidson
Hire Here Chattanooga