Living “Off The Grid” is Illegal
By James Donahue
As the battle against global warming and climate change zeros in on gas, oil and electric utility companies there has been a growing interest in finding alternative sources of energy and natural resources. Without government help the fight has fallen to state and private sources. Many homeowners are expressing an interest in owning electric cars, installing solar panels to heat and light their homes, and do home and organic gardening to produce their food.
In short; more and more people want to get “off the grid.” They are not only interested in saving the environment, but they also are attracted to the promise of less costly utility and fuel bills.
Unfortunately, there is a federal law in the United States against doing this very thing. It is the International Building Code (IBC), adopted by the International Code Council in 1997 to replace the older BOCA, SBCCI and ICBO codes used throughout the United States. The codes establish a standard for safe building standards designed to assure public safety within the places where people live and work.
Code enforcement has been a good idea in that it assures a uniform safety standard to be used by building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical contractors. The problem has been that even though it is updated every three years, the code has not been keeping up with the drastically changing times we are currently living in. And as long as the nation’s current administration is refusing to recognize climate change as an international crisis, there is probably little chance of getting the building code changes needed to meet the needs of people wishing to escape grid living.
It is a complex problem with the interests of major gas, oil and electric companies caught up in the political goings on of the day. Even major water bottling companies like Nestle and Coca-Cola are getting into the act as they are gaining access to major fresh water sources and aquifers to produce their products.
The States of Utah, Colorado and Washington already have laws on the books making it illegal for individual citizens to collect rainwater for personal use.
An example of the problems these codes are causing is found in a complex court case in Cape Coral, Florida, where resident Robin Speronis has been fighting to stay in her home after a city building inspector condemned the building for failing to be hooked up to city and local utilities. Local Magistrate Harold S. Eskin ruled that her house was uninhabitable and issued an eviction notice. She has been fighting the judgment and refusing to move out.
A judge recently sentenced Speronis to a jail term on a charge of animal cruelty. They claim she is not properly caring for the two dogs that live with her in the house.
Her problem with local authority began in 2014 after she was interviewed by a local news reporter about the way she was living off the grid. She was using solar panels and treated rain water rather than hook up to city water and electric utilities. “I never have to worry about that bill coming in,” she boasted.
After years of hearings and judicial appearances, a special magistrate ruled that Speronis was not guilty of not having a proper sewer and electrical system, but she was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply. She was given a month to comply with the code.
Magistrate Eskin ruled that Speronis is not allowed to live on her own private property without being hooked up to the city water system. Also her alternative power sources must also be approved by the city.
Eskin may be bending over in an attempt to give Speronis a break, probably because the case has been receiving national media attention. But he notes that by federal IPMC law, it may be a crime for her to use solar panels instead of being tied to the electric grid.
By James Donahue
As the battle against global warming and climate change zeros in on gas, oil and electric utility companies there has been a growing interest in finding alternative sources of energy and natural resources. Without government help the fight has fallen to state and private sources. Many homeowners are expressing an interest in owning electric cars, installing solar panels to heat and light their homes, and do home and organic gardening to produce their food.
In short; more and more people want to get “off the grid.” They are not only interested in saving the environment, but they also are attracted to the promise of less costly utility and fuel bills.
Unfortunately, there is a federal law in the United States against doing this very thing. It is the International Building Code (IBC), adopted by the International Code Council in 1997 to replace the older BOCA, SBCCI and ICBO codes used throughout the United States. The codes establish a standard for safe building standards designed to assure public safety within the places where people live and work.
Code enforcement has been a good idea in that it assures a uniform safety standard to be used by building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical contractors. The problem has been that even though it is updated every three years, the code has not been keeping up with the drastically changing times we are currently living in. And as long as the nation’s current administration is refusing to recognize climate change as an international crisis, there is probably little chance of getting the building code changes needed to meet the needs of people wishing to escape grid living.
It is a complex problem with the interests of major gas, oil and electric companies caught up in the political goings on of the day. Even major water bottling companies like Nestle and Coca-Cola are getting into the act as they are gaining access to major fresh water sources and aquifers to produce their products.
The States of Utah, Colorado and Washington already have laws on the books making it illegal for individual citizens to collect rainwater for personal use.
An example of the problems these codes are causing is found in a complex court case in Cape Coral, Florida, where resident Robin Speronis has been fighting to stay in her home after a city building inspector condemned the building for failing to be hooked up to city and local utilities. Local Magistrate Harold S. Eskin ruled that her house was uninhabitable and issued an eviction notice. She has been fighting the judgment and refusing to move out.
A judge recently sentenced Speronis to a jail term on a charge of animal cruelty. They claim she is not properly caring for the two dogs that live with her in the house.
Her problem with local authority began in 2014 after she was interviewed by a local news reporter about the way she was living off the grid. She was using solar panels and treated rain water rather than hook up to city water and electric utilities. “I never have to worry about that bill coming in,” she boasted.
After years of hearings and judicial appearances, a special magistrate ruled that Speronis was not guilty of not having a proper sewer and electrical system, but she was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply. She was given a month to comply with the code.
Magistrate Eskin ruled that Speronis is not allowed to live on her own private property without being hooked up to the city water system. Also her alternative power sources must also be approved by the city.
Eskin may be bending over in an attempt to give Speronis a break, probably because the case has been receiving national media attention. But he notes that by federal IPMC law, it may be a crime for her to use solar panels instead of being tied to the electric grid.