SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press
CORRALES, N.M. (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says she’s not backing down on her agency’s efforts to implement a new rule that would assert regulatory authority over many of the nation’s streams and wetlands despite criticisms that it amounts to a federal water grab.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy made the comments Monday during a visit to New Mexico. She stopped in Corrales to commemorate a flood-control project that will be funded with $2 million in federal loans and grants.
McCarthy says the Clean Water Act is more than 40 years old, and it’s time to clarify which streams and waterways fall under its purview. She maintains the new rule would not increase the act’s jurisdiction.
The U.S. House last week passed a bill that would block the EPA from implementing the rule.