Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) placed a hold on the nomination of Gina McCarthy as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Monday in order to put pressure on the Obama administration to approve a stalled levee project in his home state.
“These agencies missed their own self-imposed deadline, which is entirely unacceptable,” Blunt said in a statement. “That’s why I’m placing a hold on the EPA Administrator until the Obama Administration can provide us with a concrete timeline for progress on the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway Project.”
The project to close a 1,500-foot gap in the Mississippi River levee system was halted in 2007 due to problems with its Environmental Impact Statement, according to the Associated Press.