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Branstad joins lawsuit challenging EPA clean water rules

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has joined a federal lawsuit that challenges new federal rules on the oversight of smaller waterways, tributaries and wetlands.

Branstad said Tuesday he had intervened in a case pending in North Dakota against the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Branstad says he joins the lawsuit in support of 13 other states.

Opponents say the rules, issued earlier this year, are a federal power grab that impose barriers in allowing states to properly oversee water quality practices. Supporters, including President Barack Obama, say they protect those bodies of water from development and pollution.

The rules are on hold as federal courts consider a number of lawsuits over their implementation.

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