Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Gina McCarthy put up a stout defense at a House Committee on Agriculture hearing on Thursday to charges that her agency is out of touch with the farming community, stating that she works closely with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and has “great respect” for USDA, according to Agri-Pulse.

As she has at other congressional hearings, McCarthy heard from lawmakers who accused EPA of “regulatory arrogance.”

Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas stressed he would like to see EPA consult with USDA.

“Historically, USDA’s expertise and advice has been evident in the actions EPA has taken to evaluate pesticides and their uses,” Conaway said to start the hearing. “It concerns me to hear the farm community express increasingly urgent concerns about the lack of seriousness with which EPA takes and incorporates USDA expertise, advice and opinions, especially during formal interagency review.”

McCarthy took notes throughout the hearing and promised to get back to lawmakers with answers to a host of questions.

No, she said, EPA does not plan to withdraw its rule defining “waters of the U.S.” And she doesn’t believe EPA broke the law when it used social media to promote clean water while the proposed WOTUS rule was being considered. Yes, she works closely with Vilsack. And, yes, she said she has great respect for USDA and its scientific expertise.

“I think we have a close collaborative relationship” with USDA, she said. “At times we disagree, but it’s usually about what the law requires us to do.”

Committee members, however, said EPA needs to listen more to what USDA has to say, especially about pesticides and WOTUS.

Questioned by Rep. Randy Neugebauer of Texas about Enlist Duo, a Dow herbicide whose registration was challenged in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, McCarthy said the agency’s actions should actually produce an answer more quickly than would a protracted court battle.

McCarthy said Dow AgroSciences had not provided EPA all the information on potential synergistic effects of 2,4-D and glyphosate, the two active ingredients in Enlist Duo. The agency asked the 9th Circuit to vacate the registration and send the matter back to EPA. The court declined to act on the registration, but it did grant the agency’s voluntary remand motion, meaning that Enlist Duo is still available.

“Dow did not give us the full range of data,” McCarthy said. However, at this point, “I’m pretty sure that we’ve already received a lot of the information on that. We don’t think there’s going to be a significant delay in reconsideration of this and moving it forward.”

Many of the committee members accused EPA of breaking the law, citing a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found the agency used “covert propaganda” to support the proposed WOTUS rule.

McCarthy, however, said that while she respects GAO, she disagrees with its conclusion. In addition, she said GAO only cited two instances that ran afoul of the law, and that EPA is working with the Office of Management and Budget to ensure EPA is abiding by the letter of the law.

Texas Farm Bureau opposes increases in federal authority regarding water and further regulatory overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency.