The Swamp Stomp

Volume 15, Issue 52

On December 14, 2015 the Government Account Office (GAO) in an independent audit The Clean Water rule stated that the EPA in promoting the Waters of the U.S. rule violated legal provisions barring federal agencies from engaging in congressional and grassroots lobbying.

A specific use of a system called “Thunderclap” constituted “covert propaganda.” The social media campaign encouraged users to re-tweet messages in support of the rule without identifying the EPA as the source of those messages.  Thunderclap is a “crowd speaking” platform that allows a single message to be shared across multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler.    The result was that the Clean Water rule message was posted on 980 separate social media accounts reaching an estimated 1.8 million people.

It is an impressive marking effort.  However, they issue was that the message was not clear in its origin.  The Thunderclap message gave the illusion that the public was posting these messages, when in fact it was the EPA.  Consequently, this amounts to a covert lobbying effort that the EPA is not allowed to do.  The question of what the public wants or does not want thought the public vetting process of regulations remains a mystery as a result of this contamination of the data.

So what is going to happen to the EPA?  Well not much.  They need to tell the President and Congress that they have violated the Antideficiency  Act and calculate the amount spent on the illegal actions.  EPA had reported to the GAO that they spend about $64,000 on the Thunderclap campaign.   So far the EPA denies any wrongdoing and disputes the GAO report.

In other news, Congress approves the Omnibus funding of the government for another year.  Included in that bill is the costs associated with full funding the Clean Water Rule.

“The omnibus bill doesn’t include a policy rider to delay a long-awaited rule intended to protect streams from coal mining, one that was highly sought after by some Republicans and feared by some Democrats,” Bloomberg BNA reported.

E&E Daily called the water victory for the EPA “more political than practical” since the Clean Water Rule faces challenges on so many other fronts:

“The administration’s rule, finalized earlier this year, has faced numerous legal challenges in courts around the country. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a nationwide stay on the rule until the court decides where the legal battle over the regulation will play out. Still, following a Government Accountability Office opinion faulting EPA’s effort to promote the rule, appropriators asked the agency to work to heed the watchdog’s recommendations. EPA has rejected GAO’s opinion.”