Kansas joins appeal of EPA regulation on lawn and farm runoff

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has joined other states in appealing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed regulation of nutrients in runoff from farms and lawns.

Schmidt says he filed a brief Monday in a federal appeals court in Philadelphia in a lawsuit by the American Farm Bureau over the EPA’s regulation of nutrient runoff in the Chesapeake River basin.

Schmidt says Kansas and other states are weighing in on the case before the EPA makes similar regulations on nutrient runoff in the Mississippi River basin, which includes Kansas.

The attorneys general contend the regulation represents EPA micromanagement of how states meet federal water quality standards. Schmidt and others maintain that states have the authority to control runoff and impose any restrictions on industry.

This story was originally published February 4, 2014 at 6:29 AM with the headline "Kansas joins appeal of EPA regulation on lawn and farm runoff."