The Suffocation of the Self-Sufficient at the Hands of the Unenlightened

[@casey9917]

Sorry to hear they're giving you such a hard time, buddy. Those guys will squeeze ya for anything they can. Keep up the great work and keep pressing forward. You're a smart guy, you'll get this figured out

[@offthegridbuild]

cheers mate

[@clemkhopper90]

My heart goes out to you brother. Followed all your videos and then this. Heartbreaking.

[@offthegridbuild]

cheers mate its alright

[@one_b]

The codes and lack thereof is maddening. Thank you for doing these videos. It is good to have a clearer idea of the insanity my wife and I may be facing trying to do this ourselves.

[@sacktheargonian]

Honestly from the title I did not expect a video about the legal struggles of a man who collects his own water. I expected something far more new age.

[@offthegridbuild]

+Cono Dodio surprise

[@PraxisPrepper]

I'm intimately familiar with this stuff from my builds. I like your channel. You haven't made videos in a while. I'd love to see where you're at now.

[@jeremyhicks6367]

Keep up the great work! :)

[@dslynx]

Wow, you are saying exactly what I said yesterday in a comment on the last video for Colorado. I believe the well thing is giving them the ability to set a "standard" to keep people on city water from using water catchment. They want you to pay for water and make it difficult to do it any other way. So, if you have a well, you are not using city water, therefor it is OK to use water catchment. Of course, this is just personal opinion.

[@offthegridbuild]

mm

[@gregcripps7291]

I feel your pain. Any chance you can convince them you will have a cistern style system with potable water delivered? If so it can easily be converted to the catchment style and use the water delivery for backup?

[@GettinJunkDone]

Where abouts in New York are you? I am slowly building an off grid home in Oswego county and plan on doing rain catchment as well. Hoping that I won't run into the same trouble you are. Thanks for the info!

[@DSGLABEL]

Joe Robinson think he is downstate. I live in Syracuse. Good luck with the homestead in Oswego.

[@offthegridbuild]

ulster county

[@GettinJunkDone]

Thanks! I travel through and to Syracuse quite often when I'm able to get to the homestead. Just went to the State Fair a few weeks ago. Thanks for the reply!

[@GettinJunkDone]

Gotcha, Ulster county is actually closer to my current home than the future homestead. Hope everything gets worked out for you.

[@PistolPat]

Red tape never runs out.

[@offthegridbuild]

no shit right, yeezus

[@Kazekoge101]

Is this something where looking for land in a unincorporated community (basically unzoned/regulated land) could solve? I know Shawn from the mySelfReliance youtube channel lives and is planning to retire in something legally similar in Canada (a unincorporated township)

[@offthegridbuild]

hmm, not sure, sounds awesome though. will look into that. maine has tons of those

[@Abundanthealthcoach]

Hopefully other off gridders like yourself will get together and affect change, run for office, take on the system.

[@offthegridbuild]

yes

[@jackfntwist]

It's all about the money and the power. That's why #MAGA!

[@offthegridbuild]

dont forget #MAGNETO!

[@captainquint]

Wanna know how many permits, inspections and permissions I needed to build my homestead? Zero. The only thing I needed to do was get an address from the post office (optional) and let the county taxman know I'd built a structure. Telling the taxman was more of a courtesy thing. We seem to get along just fine without codes, permits all that mess.

[@offthegridbuild]

+captainquint where do u live?

[@captainquint]

Rural Missouri. Had to join the local fire association if I wanted fire protection. Wasn't forced to. Costs like 30 bucks a year in dues.

[@amateurethicist]

Next time you run up against this, you could try getting a municode variance. Most US jurisdictions have sections in their municode that will allow you to apply for a variance so you can do your thing so long as you can provide the necessary science to back it up. For instance, if you need a variance for cob construction, get a structural engineer/architect to approve the plans. It can be a tedious pain, but maybe less expensive than a useless well or conventional construction. You probably already know this, or have already tried, but it might be helpful for others to know this is possible.

[@l0gic23]

Thanks for mentioning this.

[@techtom83]

If there aren't regulations in place for how you're supposed to do something, doesn't that mean you could do it however you want?

[@offthegridbuild]

the regulation is "no well, no house"

[@Bullacenet]

Why bother even asking, are they going to go to your house and check if you're doing anything illigal? In my country I would just do it (if it was illigal to begin with) and claim I didn't know if someone were to figure it out, at most I'd just get a slap on the wrist.

[@offthegridbuild]

they wont let me even build the house without a weel

[@user-io3hy4zb4s]

Actually, at most they can condemn your property. And ignorance of the law isn't a defense. Especially if they figure out you're lying. Then it may be perjury or fraud.

[@MadnomadM]

That sucks. Great video title btw.

[@offthegridbuild]

thanks

[@johnarizona3820]

NY has much sulfur well water.

[@CricketMcCrickets]

the system wants $$$

[@offthegridbuild]

well, the "system" isnt making any money off dan drilling a well. just the well drilling company. i dont think they are bribing the legislators, but who knows, maybe

[@JuliaB1955]

Mordida. They're as corrupt as the Mexican govt.

[@checkpoint3260]

Sounds like a job for Marc Stevens

[@Dunkelheit667]

As a German... Sounds like the regulatory jungle over here. "Everything" is regulated, with other words you have to invest a fortune to keep the "system" running. If something is not regulated, you can bet they will find something similar and apply the rules or write some new stuff up. Another day, another facepalm. I feel with you. :o|

[@offthegridbuild]

danke-shun ;\

[@stephengarfield4691]

Another reason to live here in the west.

[@offthegridbuild]

+Stephen Garfield what part?

[@stephengarfield4691]

I live in Arizona. AZ or New Mexico is great.

[@ericmattinen4728]

Amen to that! Here in MT if it isn't an actual law against something, it is generally legal to do, unless it harms someone or something, and then it is up to the state to prove it.

[@numbereight886]

They are ONLY worried about their jobs. Public sector workers just tick boxes and work in a blame culture. They don't have to do well, just not fall foul of various directives and regulations.

[@Khethatipet]

"No law in place", "no code exists..." Translation: you are good to go! Why do bureaucrats assume they are the final authority on anything?

[@itstackyandtawdrytime]

As usual, common sense is not that common. My favourite quote these days is ....the greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism. Cheers

[@offthegridbuild]

mm

[@JunkworksGarage]

they cant tax rain yet theirs your problem

[@spicer41282]

>> I believe you're in the same spot Mike Reynolds was back in the day in NM. Time to feed the hungry politicians to make the law regarding rain catchment across New York State. In the meantime, do what your other viewer suggests: why even give them notice of your activity? ( a Good Deed never goes unpunished)

[@offthegridbuild]

they will not issue a certificate of occupancy without a well

[@njwaskow]

If there is no law dictating how or if you can catch rainwater, to me that should mean it's completely at your discretion. Since when does a law need to be written to cover every possible circumstance to babysit the citizenry. This land of the 'Free' isn't so free; everyone giving up their freedoms in exchange for feelings of security.

[@offthegridbuild]

the law is "no well, no house". they wont let us build without the well

[@thelucondrix391]

Here's the kicker for you, they by law can't force you to do that, especially if they have no regulations on it. They can't force you by law, but good luck educating them on that one.

[@offthegridbuild]

they can refrain from issuing a certificate of occupanccy

[@pthomasgarcia]

Johan.

[@offthegridbuild]

what

[@aj2674]

It comes down to money. I don't know if you've watched the issues Eustace Conway is having on Turtle Island but there's a pretty good 30-40 min video he's done to voice the same frustrations you are. Check it out, it may make you feel better. The worst is being a newcomer to an area. You know no town officials, everything is combed over as a money grab. Pathetic. What's funny is Russia is now offering free land to Americans. The regulations are probably zero there, lol.

[@offthegridbuild]

+aj2674 free land in Russia?. can you provide evidence?

[@aj2674]

www.rt.com/business/341892-far-east-land-infrastructure/

[@gmonet8753]

Suggest doing some more research on this before you pull the trigger on the well. The way you describe it isn't typically how the law works - that is, it isn't permissive it's restrictive. Maybe NY building codes are a bit different though.

[@valleycoastlawns]

What a joke they are mate lmao

[@JDKvideos]

Liberalism!

[@offthegridbuild]

+JDK can you elaborate?

[@JDKvideos]

Liberalism beliefs are more friendly to environment issues... You live in a Democrat state, therefore......... But like you said, its your choice and that's America

[@alanbeltran5339]

Brother, learn about common law see Karl Lentz & bill thornton vids for starters

[@offthegridbuild]

why? can you elaborate pls?