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Michael Phillis.

FILE - A sign is posted outside a water well indicates perchlorate contamination at a site in Rialto, Calif., March 28, 2005. (AP Photo/Ric Francis, File)

EPA says it will propose drinking water limit for perchlorate, but only because court ordered it

January 5, 2026

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will propose a drinking water limit for perchlorate, a chemical in certain explosives. But the agency said it doesn’t think a limit will provide a major public health benefit and it’s doing so only because a court ordered it. Perchlorate affects the function of the thyroid and can be particularly damaging to the development of infants. The agency first said the substance needed to be regulated in 2011, but reversed itself during the first Trump administration and said the substance was less threatening and to fewer people than once thought.

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FILE - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

EPA says Trump’s big bill should help in its fight to take back billions in green bank funds

July 4, 2025

The Environmental Protection Agency says the sprawling tax and policy bill should give it a victory in its fight to freeze billions in funding for a green bank for climate friendly projects. The bill repeals the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also known as the “green bank,” created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Federal officials argue in court that this allows the EPA to freeze funding and cancel contracts with nonprofits previously awarded billions to operate the bank. Climate United Fund, one of the nonprofits, disagrees. It clams most funds were already disbursed and unaffected by the repeal. A federal appeals court is now considering the EPA’s appeal of a ruling that partially unfroze the funds.

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FILE - Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

EPA will revisit Biden-era ban on the last type of asbestos used in US

June 17, 2025

The Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider a Biden administration ban on the last type of asbestos used in the United States. Asbestos causes mesothelioma and other cancers and is linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually. It has largely been phased out in the United States. The EPA will take roughly 30 months to reconsider the rule. The EPA told a federal appeals court it would determine whether an outright ban went “beyond what is necessary.” Environmental groups blasted the move as harmful to public health.

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