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Government Watchdog Finds EPA Violated Law with Grassroots Campaign in Favor of its Own Rule

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), in response to a request from the top Republican on the Senate Environment Committee, concluded that several aspects of the social media and grassroots campaign undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) around the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rulemaking violated provisions of the laws designed to protect against undue agency influence on the rulemaking process.

The EPA utilized many facets of social media including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the Thunderclap tool in an effort build support for its own rulemaking and characterize industry concerns as “myths” in favor of polluting waters. Federal agencies are allowed to promote their own policies, but are not allowed to engage in propaganda, or covert activities intended to influence the American public. They are also prohibited from grassroots lobbying, or urging the American public to contact Congress to take action on legislation.

The GAO, after evaluting the Agency’s campaign, found that elements violated both of these laws. According to the report, “EPA appealed to the public to contact Congress in opposition to pending legislation in violation of the grass-roots lobbying prohibition” and that elements of their social media campaign constituted covert propaganda. The GAO has instructed EPA to discover and report how much money was spent by staff in these violations.

For more information, please contact Scott Berry at berrys@agc.org or (703) 837-5321.

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