AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has threatened to give key regulatory powers back to the federal government, a move officials say could result in lengthy water permitting delays.

The Portland Press Herald reports that LePage, frustrated with “overreach” by the Environmental Protection Agency over Maine’s tribal waters, sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation Aug. 31 threatening to return the state’s federally granted powers to the EPA.

The move would turn water quality permitting over to the EPA’s regional office in Boston.

An attorney who represents entities that discharge into the Penobscot River watershed says LePage’s frustration centers around a dispute over the Penobscot tribe’s jurisdictional, regulatory and statutory rights in the Penobscot River.

Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis says the tribe would be happy if LePage made good on his threat.