Category: EPA

The EPA proposed Aug. 6 to grant New Hampshire’s petition to withdraw from the Ozone Transport Region, a multistate air quality coordination body established under the Clean Air Act to address pollution that crosses state borders. The agency is simultaneously proposing to conditionally approve New Hampshire’s request to remove its Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance program from its State Implementation Plan, which could reduce vehicle emissions testing requirements for state residents. The Ozone Transport Region was established because air pollution from upwind states contributes to ground-level ozone violations in downwind states, particularly across the densely populated Northeast corridor. The region encompasses

The Environmental Protection Agency released a Protocol for Developing the Fluoride Human Health Toxicity Assessment on Aug. 3, advancing an expedited scientific review that could ultimately lead to the most significant change to U.S. public water standards in decades. The protocol defines the scientific methodology EPA will use to evaluate health risks associated with fluoride in drinking water, a step that precedes any potential change to the maximum contaminant level currently permitted in public water systems. Fluoride is added to public water supplies serving approximately 73% of the U.S. population, a practice endorsed by major dental and medical organizations as

The EPA released the Protocol for Developing the Fluoride Human Health Toxicity Assessment, a pivotal step in its expedited review of public health risks from fluoride in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act, on Aug. 3. The toxicity assessment protocol sets the scientific methodology EPA will use to evaluate fluoride’s health effects, including potential neurological impacts that have been the focus of recent research, the agency said. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly advocated for reconsidering the federal recommendation on water fluoridation, which has been a public health standard since the 1940s. Community water fluoridation currently

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed granting New Hampshire’s petition to withdraw from the Ozone Transport Region, a multi-state regulatory framework designed to reduce ground-level ozone pollution across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, on Aug. 6. The EPA simultaneously proposed removing New Hampshire’s vehicle inspection and maintenance program, a significant deregulatory action that would eliminate emissions testing requirements for the state’s drivers. New Hampshire’s withdrawal would be the first such exit in the Ozone Transport Region’s history. The OTR was established under the Clean Air Act to address interstate air pollution transport, recognizing that ozone-forming emissions generated in one state can degrade

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed to withdraw New Hampshire from the Ozone Transport Region and separately ease the state’s vehicle inspection and maintenance program mandate on Aug. 6. The actions would be the first of their kind in the regional air quality program’s history. The Ozone Transport Region is a multi-state regulatory framework designed to address regional ozone pollution affecting the Northeast. New Hampshire’s potential withdrawal would be the first time a state has been removed from the OTR since its creation under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The vehicle inspection mandate changes could reduce compliance costs for

The Environmental Protection Agency released a protocol for an expedited review of fluoride’s human health toxicity on Aug. 3. The step could ultimately lead to changes in federal drinking water standards affecting approximately 200 million Americans who receive fluoridated water. The review addresses the public health risks associated with fluoride in drinking water delivered through community water fluoridation systems, one of the most widely used regulated substances in American public health history. The protocol establishes the scientific framework and timeline for the assessment. Fluoride’s presence in drinking water at federally recommended levels has been a subject of renewed scientific and