By Jessica Domel
Field Editor

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in promoting its Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) law on social media.

“It’s clear from this report that EPA orchestrated this matter in a biased fashion,” Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president said in a statement. “Now it’s up to Congress to clean up this mess by including a corrective measure in the omnibus bill now taking shape on Capitol Hill.

The GAO report, released Monday, concludes the EPA unlawfully used funds for unauthorized publicity or propaganda purposes and for indirect or grassroots lobby in support or opposition to pending legislation.

EPA reportedly violated the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act during fiscal years 2014 and 2015 in promotion of WOTUS.

The report does not indicate how much money was spent to promote WOTUS on social media.

The report comes on the heels of questions as to the legality of WOTUS.

Businesses, agricultural organizations like Texas Farm Bureau and AFBF, states and other groups have filed lawsuits against the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to prevent EPA and the Corps from implementing the water rule.

The rule has since been stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit until the legal system can determine who has jurisdiction in the lawsuits.

“Courts already have declared serious doubts about the legal authority for the rule,” Stallman said. “Now that it has become clear the agency used illegal tactics to manufacture ill-informed support for the rule, Congress should act immediately to prohibit implementation of the rule, which is the product of an unlawful and misguided process.”

Before the temporary stay was issued on the rule, WOTUS effectively expanded the EPA’s regulatory authority over waterways across the nation. It also effectively gave EPA authority over areas of land that only sometimes hold water like streams, ditches and low-lying areas by claiming the area could eventually connect to a larger waterway.

By threatening fines for actions on those areas, the EPA could effectively decide who farms and how they do it.

As the legal battle continues, watch for additional updates from TFB on its website, www.TexasFarmBureau.org.