Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/632397
AGGREGATES MANAGER / February 2016 3 T he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went too far in its efforts to pro- mote its Waters of the U.S. rule. While that is likely the opinion of many reading this, it's also the opinion of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Specifically, it notes that EPA is bound by Section 718 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act — which prohibits use of the EPA's appropriations for unauthorized publicity or propaganda, Section 715 of the same act — which prohibits the use of EPA appropriations for indirect or grass- roots lobbying in support or opposition to pending legislation, and Section 401 of the Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2015 — which also prohibits the use of EPA appropriations for grassroots lobbying. In a letter to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Susan A. Poling, general counsel for the GAO, writes, "We conclude that the EPA violated the described provisions through the use of social media in association with its rulemaking efforts to define "Waters of the U.S." under the Clean Water Act during FYs 2014 and 2015… We also conclude that EPA violated the Antideficiency Act 31, U.S.C. § 341(a)(1)(A), as the agency's appropriations were not available for these prohibited uses." Two portions of the EPA's communication campaign included prohibited behaviors. The first was a Thunderclap campaign, which solicited supporters to share its mes- sage across Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Once it achieved its support goal, EPA's message was simultaneously shared across the various platforms. The problem was that, while supporters knew the EPA was behind the message, the estimated 1.8 mil- lion members of their social networks did not. The second violation tied to an EPA blog post that contained links to the Natural Resources Defense Council web page and a Surfrider Foundation blog post. Those groups encouraged their members to contact members of Congress in support of WOTUS. The GAO determined that the links in the EPA's post constituted grassroots lobbying. "EPA's illegal attempts to manufacture public support for its Waters of the U.S. rule and sway Congressional opinion regarding legislation to address that rule have un- dermined the integrity of the rulemaking process and have demonstrated how base- less this unprecedented expansion of EPA regulatory authority really is," Inhofe said in a statement. Indeed. When a public entity uses public funds and employees to influence other public officials, our tax dollars are being seriously misused. Incidents such as this un- dermine the public's trust and, ultimately, erode its faith in the political process. February 2016 Vol. 21, No. 2 aggman.com /AggregatesManager @AggMan_editor Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Therese Dunphy Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Bobby Atkinson editorial@aggman.com Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@aggman.com Construction Media VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com 3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com Corporate Chairman: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Russell McEwen Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Stacy McCants Vice President, Audience Development: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: aggregatesmanager@halldata.com. 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(See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Aggregates Manager, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. EPA Oversteps on WOTUS by Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief tdunphy@randallreilly.com EDITORIAL