Rodney Page’s first novel, a political thriller called “Powers Not Delegated,” follows a congressman learning how Washington works. He clings to his parents’ advice that “If you never tell a lie, you won’t have to remember what you said.” But eventually he develops “a perverse respect for politicians who had mastered the art of spin… the skill to produce an answer having nothing to do with the question.”
I, too, am often amazed at the skill of various officials who can describe the same issue in completely different terms, easily obscuring even the basic facts about a subject. A classic example is the current debate about an Administration proposal to rewrite regulations based on Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Most people are more familiar with Section 404, which requires permits from the Army Corps of Engineers for all sorts of projects that impact waterways. You need a “404 Permit” for that.
Fewer people outside government are even aware of Section 401, but it was considered crucial when the law was passed in 1972. It gives states the power to regulate federally permitted activities that could affect water quality in navigable waterways within state boundaries. In addition to federal permits, states can also determine whether the project complies with state water quality laws. But Section 401 was drafted very vaguely, and its broad authority has been debated ever since, including in dozens of court cases.
Worse, it has become a tool for states to deny permits to projects that have nothing to do with water. Starting in 2016, when New York denied Section 401 certification to a natural gas pipeline, it has become a tool for climate activists to deny permits to pipelines, transmission lines, and other infrastructure. That has happened in a number of states. So now, legislation is pending in Congress, and a reform of the 401 rules has been proposed by the Administration.
The spin doctors are hard at work now, on Capitol Hill, at the EPA, in the environmental industry, and in the media. And taking each side at face value, one might think all were writing about entirely different issues.
The EPA has touted its “reform” proposal as a rule “to Streamline Permitting, Unleash Economic Growth, and Protect America’s Waterways.” What it would actually do is tell states they must stop trying to use Section 401 to regulate pipelines and other infrastructure that has nothing to do with water. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called for “restoring the Clean Water Act to its intended purpose… and ending the weaponization of the law that has been obstructing infrastructure and energy projects vital to our nation’s economy.” That’s what this is really about – the Clean Water Act has nothing to do with climate change. But that’s just one spin.
An environmental writer at the Breakthrough Institute argues that Congress is attempting to “regulate in the dark,” having no idea what it is doing and no idea how Section 401 works. He says, “Sound analysis requires clean, high-level data that lets us see and understand Section 401 decision-making – the kind of information that reveals the scale and scope of repairs the program actually needs.” What he really wants, of course, is for Congress to leave the program alone, but he can’t defend the abuses of some states. Hence that spin.
Congressional leaders argue that the reform bill is designed simply to re-establish the original congressional intent, preserve the federal-state balance, and ensure an efficient permitting system. A bill the House passed is called the “Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act.” It would remove any state certification requirement for natural gas pipelines entirely, reserving that function to the federal government. What sponsors really want is to reign in rogue states, but pipelines can be controversial, so politicians must be careful how they explain the problem.
In yet another spin, some strategists point out that many environmentalists worry about transmission lines to connect solar and wind farms also being delayed by permitting problems. They suggest a deal essentially trading one against the other and thus easing permit delays for both. A plan every side hates.
In “This Town,” Mark Leibovich wrote, “To cover politics in Washington allows you to live in the very, very wide gap between what the actual truth is, and how people are trying to manipulate the truth. They speak in the language of spin, obsequiousness, obfuscation.” It would help the rest of us if all the players would at least stick to the same spin.
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