Man's good deed lands home on list of meth labs

Big Brother may be watching, but too often, he just isn't paying attention when it counts.

That's especially true when Big Brother doesn't watch where he steps, and tramples his little brothers and sisters in the process.

The federal Druge Enforcement Agency finally cleaned up after another agency, the National Clandestine Laboratory Register, but not until after the NCLR had falsely declared an Iowa family's house as a drug lab, and after media had publicized the error.

And wouldn't you know it, the error resulted from the homeowner's attempt to do the right thing.

Paul Valin enjoys kayaking on the Des Moines River, and was doing just that on an unseasonably warm Jan. 5, 2012, when he discovered a backpack more than 15 miles from his home, half submerged in the river.

He threw it in the bed of his pickup and drove home, figuring he'd look for ID and try to return it to the owner.

When Paul and his wife, Cindy, checked the contents that evening, they found plastic bottles and rubber tubing -- apparently equipment for a portable meth lab.

Valin was retired from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, so he was trained what to do.

He left the backpack outside and called the Des Moines Police Department. An officer arrived and took a statement, a hazardous materials team collected the backpack, and the Valins forgot all about it.

Forgot about it, that is, until a television reporter knocked on the door, asking the couple how they felt to have their home listed on the National Clandestine Laboratory Register.

They didn't know it was -- and that's not something you'd like to have attached to your home should you decide to sell it. The county assessor announced he was considering using the information from the NCLR when assessing the value of a house.

After Valin contacted the DEA, which told him that the only way to be removed from the NCLR was to have the original law enforcement agency make a request to have it removed, or have the "local health agency" send an email to the DEA stating the property is free from any contamination associated with meth production.

That isn't possible, since no local or state health agencies conducts such inspections, and the state hasn't even set standards for what constitutes meth-related contamination.

After the Iowa Watchdog group contacted the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center, a special agent took interest in the case, and, eventually, removed the home listing from the website.

The Internet has revolutionized communications of all types, from online auctions to the notorious Obamacare health exchange, but when we rely upon computerized communication to the detriment of people and their lives, a real human being needs to step in.

Read the original Iowa Watchdog.org story here: http://bit.ly/MNpTjC