GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - The Nebraska State Fair has brought out hundreds of thousands of people to Grand Island over the last week, and now, state senators and federal leaders are stopping by to talk with constituents.

Senator Pete Ricketts hosted a federal issues forum at the state fairgrounds to discuss environmental concerns and his plan to “get America back on track.”

Newly-confirmed environmental protection agency, EPA, administrator Lee Zeldin spoke alongside Senator Ricketts, joined by leaders of the Nebraska Farm Bureau.

Zeldin says the agency is working to protect the environment without hurting farmers or small businesses, which he said means ending government overreach and cutting red tape.

He also said he’s traveling across the U.S. to get direct feedback from local residents.

"I just want to be as responsive as possible, as quickly as possible, to all of the asks coming from Nebraska. And it’s not about doing one thing at a time, we want to do everything at once. I feel like we have the team and the bandwidth to get it done. So while we covered a lot of topics today, as soon as this stuff gets done here in the coming weeks and months, i want to keep working through the list. It’s not the end of our fight for nebraska. That fight goes on,” said Zeldin. 

The EPA is pursuing major changes in Washington, including restructuring the agency and rolling back regulations such as revising the definition of “waters of the united states.”

Zeldin emphasized that the agency’s goal is to put farmers first, a message that resonated with many attendees.

However, not everyone was in agreement. Tensions rose during the forum when several attendees were asked to leave after shouting expletives directed at Senator Ricketts.

Ricketts did not address the comments directly, but both he and Zeldin emphasized the importance of hearing public feedback, whether it supports or opposes their current agenda.