Anyone who has lived in Wyoming for awhile knows that a really popular theme in Wyoming politics and culture is that the Federal government shouldn't be telling the state what to do. . . on anything.
So, why then is Senator John Barrasso sponsoring a bill that would modify the Clean Water Act to prohibit states from blocking projects that impact their water ways?
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act allows states to basically block things that they feel impact them locally. And Washington state had done just that, blocking shipments of coal across Oregon on that basis.
Chances are that Washington's actions have less to do with their waters than they do a building national opposition to coal. But that's sort of besides the point.
Senator Barrasso would like the states to have more say over Endangered Species matters, and most Wyomingites including our Governor would as well.
And anger over national actions on all sorts of things exist at all sorts of levels, all the time. Sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes for bad.
But you can't have it both ways.
If Wyoming deserves more say over ESA matters, or wolves in the state, or coal leasing. . .well. . .I guess that Washington state can have the say it wants over the shipment of coal over its territory. That makes logical sense.
But it doesn't make political pocketbook sense to locals. And like a lot of things, at the end of the day, people are pretty comfortable with Federal action it it benefits their wallets.
But if you do that too much. . . people won't listen to your arguments.
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