Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., used a nomination hearing Thursday to sound off on what he said were EPA’s “questionable activities” surrounding the proposed Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. Roberts told Jeffrey Prieto, President Obama’s nominee to be USDA’s general counsel, that the proposed rule would harm U.S. agriculture, which USDA has the responsibility to protect. What’s more, Roberts said he believes EPA broke federal law when it “manipulated and influenced” the outcome of the rule’s public comment period, which should trouble any attorney. Read more at Agri-Pulse…