Speaking to members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) meeting in Washington DC this week, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy defended her agency’s Clean Water Rule, better known as WOTUS or Waters of the US.

“With more extreme weather across the country it’s more important than ever that we protect our water resources,” said McCarthy. “This is why EPA and the Army Corps took the step to finalize a Clean Water Rule so we can protect the streams and wetlands that one out of three Americans rely on for their drinking water. And we did it in a way that does not create any new permitting requirements and maintains all of the previous exemptions and exclusions.”

McCarthy was invited to address the summer Corn Congress session by NCGA President Chip Bowling, a farmer from Newburg, Maryland. “I invited her to Corn Congress because I wanted farmers to hear from her directly,” said Bowling. “To her credit, she had the courage to show up and talk to farmers face to face.”

McCarthy also addressed concerns that corn growers have about the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy at NCGA Corn Congress