EPA chief to face grilling over toxic spill

Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy will find herself in the hot seat this week, as she testifies before both House and Senate committees on a toxic mine spill the agency caused last month in Colorado. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds its first oversight hearing Wednesday on the Aug. 5 wastewater spill at the Gold King Mine in Colorado. The House will follow up with a rare joint committee hearing where McCarthy and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell are both slated to testify. Republican environment committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma said he wants "to ensure the EPA is held accountable to this grave incident and that those impacted are provided the necessary support to move forward." That includes the three states, local communities and American Indian tribes. The Navajo Nation in New Mexico is threatening to sue the EPA over the spill, fearing that the clean up costs will incur a significant burden on its communities for years to come...more