Dorman’s ’puddle police’ column can’t withstand a fact check

Todd Dorman’s May 1 column (“Puddle police are coming”) for The Gazette ridiculed farmers and the Iowa Farm Bureau for their opposition to the government over-reach proposed by the 2015 Waters Of The United States (WOTUS) ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Although Dorman successfully checked his snarky box, he failed to mention that 31 states and 53 non-state parties, including groups representing farming, mining, forestry and other interests, filed complaints and petitions for review in multiple federal district and appellate courts against WOTUS. Those reviews were enjoined in much of the country as courts began to recognize the potential regulatory overreach. In fact, the 2015 EPA rule was currently in effect in only 22 states as of 2019. And the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia found the 2015 rule unlawfully extended the agencies’ authority beyond the limits of the Clean Water Act and violated federal Administrative Procedure Act requirements.

Dorman was not forthcoming with essential facts. WOTUS obviously had unlawful content and was more than merely a clarification of the Clean Water Act, as asserted by Dorman!

Curt Zingula

Central City