KGMI News
by Tracy Ellis
WASHINGTON D.C. – A controversial EPA clean water campaign did not violate federal lobbying rules, that’s the ruling from the EPA Inspector General.
Gerald Baron, the executive director of savefamilyfarming.org, says the “What’s Upstream?” campaign pushed for rule changes that would hurt farmers.
“What they were trying to do with this was pass legislation or regulations that would require massive screen buffers on all screens in farm country,” Baron says.
The Inspector says the campaign didn’t break lobbying rules because it didn’t advocate for any specific legislation before lawmakers.
The Seattle Times reports some Republican lawmakers, including Ferndale State Senator and current EPA employee Doug Ericksen, considered it an anti-farmer campaign.
The Whatcom Transportation Authority initially allowed “What’s Upstream?” ads on buses, but later found they were too political and pulled them.