Newhouse urges halt of grants during investigation

WASHINGTON D.C. — With news coming down the pipeline that the anti-farmer “What’s Upstream” campaign has the ability to receive subgrant awards, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., is demanding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) halt the awarding of federal grants during its ongoing investigation into “What’s Upstream.”

Newhouse recently sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, employing the EPA to prohibit subgrant awards to "What’s Upstream" after a National Estuary Program grant totaling $25 million over five years was made to the National Indian Fisheries Commission. Newhouse took issue with the fact that “What’s Upstream” organizers were subgrant recipients in the $25 million grant.

“It is unconscionable that before farmers in Washington state receive answers on how taxpayer dollars were used improperly to smear them and to lobby lawmakers, the EPA is continuing to shell out taxpayer dollars with zero accountability,” Newhouse said.

EPA Region 10, which covers Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and 271 Native American tribes, funded the “What’s Upstream” website and advocacy campaign in Washington, which aimed to influence legislators to aim for greater regulations of farmers and ranchers. The campaign went about promoting their message by using grant awards to fund a website, radio ads, and billboards that depicted dead fish and polluted water. “What’s Upstream” organizers contended that planting buffers can help the agricultural industry protect water resources and requiring 100 feet of vegetation between farmland and waterways would keep pesticides, fertilizers, cows and manure out of streams. McCarthy admitted in April that the EPA was “distressed by the use of the money and the tone of (the What’s Upstream) campaign” and called for a full review in response.

“The EPA has not fulfilled its promise to complete a full review of how anti-farmer propaganda was funded by the taxpayer before making additional grants. I urge Administrator McCarthy in the strongest terms to halt any further awards to subgrantees that participated in the ‘What’s Upstream’ campaign until EPA gets to the bottom of the misuse of taxpayer funds,” Newhouse said.

Newhouse’s letter lays out a series of questions, which the congressman requested responses from the EPA on by Dec. 30. Included in Newhouse’s questions is why the EPA isn’t restricting additional funds to a subgrant awardee for the “very activities" they are under investigation of by the Office of the Inspector General.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.