"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit back Thursday after a top Republican accused it of trying to take over large pieces of private land and water.

Tom Reynolds, the agency’s top spokesman, wrote a blog post to respond to what he said were “myths and misunderstandings” about the Waters of the United States rule.

The rule was proposed earlier this year to clarify the EPA’s jurisdiction for the Clean Water Act.

“This law has nothing to do with land use or private property rights, and our proposal does not do anything to change that,” Reynolds wrote in a blog post Thursday, referring to the Clean Water Act."

Timothy Cama reports for The Hill August 28, 2014. [2]