Indiana Among States Appealing EPA Water Rules

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has joined counterparts in 10 other states in asking a federal appeals court to halt implementation of new water rules while the states try to overturn those regulations in court.

Zoeller said Friday the request was filed after a federal court in Georgia declined to hear the state's challenge to the water rules.

Zoeller says the Environmental Protections Agency overstepped Congress by enacting the rules last month that regulate farm runoff.

The rules assert federal authority over streams, tributaries, wetlands and other flowing waters that significantly affect other protected waters downstream.

While the EPA says the rules will reduce water pollution, Zoeller says they will result in "onerous" fines to farmers that could add up to thousands of dollars a day.