Why doesn't anyone want to discuss what actions we need take now to get from where we actually are to where we want to go? Not entertaining enough? Too difficult? I'm not saying that I have confidence we'll get solar toilets if we try, but I'm sure no one on this site is working in that direction whether they think they are trying
We've heard many NEPA presentations from SN. The fact is, that issue can't get us solar toilets no matter how much time has been spent on it.
Dale B. Dalrymple
The NEPA "presentations" on this thread came about while I was researching the history of toilets and how they came to be removed. It's hard to believe that a Federal agency would circumvent environmental law, but that is what Garry Oye did to get his way. Some of the people involved in the decision process were posting about how it was all good and they didn't need to file a decision document or consider public input (which ran HEAVILY against the wag bag program). Well legally they did need to file a decision document to complete the NEPA process, and that process includes an explanation of how public input was considered. And since they didn't file a decision document, they can't issue a Forest Order today to require wag bags. So understanding the history is vital to understanding the situation today. I shared what I learned and gave people some background on the environmental review process.
Never did I suggest taking this to court as a solution or way forward, although I did mention that if someone did, they would probably win very easily. The NEPA appeal process tends to get people's attention, so it was a good way to reopen the issue with the new management at Inyo. But I was always clear on the phone and in writing that I was not intending to pursue that direction personally.
After speaking with Joe Arnold, Rocky Mtn National Park Engineer who wrote the Performance Report on Backcountry Toilets, we came to the conclusion that forcing this issue onto the Rangers just wouldn't work. Running a toilet system is difficult and you can't have people undermining the effort. Perhaps if the maintenance was contracted out to a private firm and the Rangers were not involved. That brings up personnel and contracting issues, but that's what is done at Yosemite to service the toilets with pack mules. LLamas seem like a better way to go, and I'm sure a nice business could spring up somewhere in the eastern Sierra to do the job.
So, I've been doing my background research, debating people who try to prove that toilets won't work, teaching people about environmental law as it applies to what was done, and trying to maintain positive relations with Inyo Management. In between, I have a full time job, a part-time structural engineering business, and I'm raising two teenagers. I get to Whitney every few years, so it's not like it affects me.
