Washington – In 2008, the Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant, located near Parsons, Kansas was closed by the Department of Defense.  Since then, many local, private sector developers have lined up to develop the land and create jobs in this rural community, but an EPA regulatory overreach and an ensuing bureaucratic turf war between the EPA and the Department of Defense has kept this undeveloped land on the Federal docket and out of the private sector’s reach.

Today, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) filed an amendment to H.R. 1, the FY11 Continuing Resolution being debated on the House floor this week.   If passed, Congresswoman Jenkins’ amendment will restrict the EPA from using Government funds to promote this bureaucratic regulatory overreach, currently hampering economic growth and job creation in Labette County. 

Congresswoman Jenkins released the following statement after filing her amendment:

“As I have said before, the first priority of this Congress must be to get Government out of the way so the private sector can start hiring again.  This situation in Parsons is the perfect example of an overzealous regulatory agency eliminating real jobs in rural America. The $100 billion of cuts in the Continuing Resolution offered by House Republicans this week is a first step toward achieving our goal, but we must also address the overbearing job destroying regulations promulgated by the executive branch.  My amendment does just that by prohibiting the government funding of an EPA overreach that is currently hampering job growth in Eastern Kansas” Jenkins said.

“My colleagues in the Kansas delegation and I have asked numerous times for the EPA to cite where they have the authority to hold up this land transfer, and have received two responses telling us their official response will be forthcoming.  It’s time to end the Washington run-around and create jobs in Kansas.  To the EPA, Labette County is just another spot on a map and the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant is just another piece of paper, but this isn’t just a spot or a piece of paper. The people in Labette County are real people with real families and Washington bureaucrats need to stop exploiting them to prove a point.  It is my hope that this amendment will pass, and the EPA will remove this barrier to job creation.”

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Congresswoman Jenkins’ simple, common-sense amendment would prohibit any of Government funds being used to remove or to require the removal of pesticides that were applied in compliance with laws at the time of application and of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) paint to an extent beyond that required by law.