House Republicans are overblowing the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to deny a mine permit in Alaska to demonstrate a political motive where none exists, a top Democrat said Thursday, invoking the Flint, Mich., water crisis to make her point.

“In that regard, I find it ironic that EPA has been condemned in recent weeks for doing too little to protect the water in Flint, Michigan, and at the same time they’re being condemned by some of the same committees for doing too much to protect the water in Bristol Bay, Alaska,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee’s top Democrat.