Court rules EPA must regulate Perchloate

The United States Federal Court of Appeals ruled on May 9th that the Environmental Protection Agency must set a limit on perchlorate in drinking water. The ruling reactivates the time frame for the US Environmental Protection Agency to propose regulations to control the chemical under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

The US Environmental Protection Agency decided in 2011 to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. This chemical is used to manufacture rocket fuel, military weapons, and fireworks, which can inhibit the absorption of iodine by the thyroid gland. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy is related to dysplasia development of fetal brain, while iodine deficiency during lactation is related to neurodevelopmental problems of children.

 But the EPA has never proposed regulations for perchlorate drinking water. In 2020, under the leadership of Donald J. Trump, the agency decided not to regulate this chemical.

 For a long time, the US Environmental Protection Agency has been facing pressure from other federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to not regulate perchlorates. The activities of these institutions have already contaminated groundwater across the United States with this chemical substance.The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental organization, sued the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2020. The organization claims that it has no authority to withdraw regulatory decisions under the SDWA.

In a panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S., two-thirds of the judges agreed with the NRDC's opinion that the law does not allow the EPA to revoke regulatory decisions on drinking water. The third judge agreed to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency's decision on another ground, calling this action "arbitrary and capricious."

The court has ruled that the EPA must regulate drinking water contaminated with perchlorate, as the agency has found that perchlorate poses a threat to the health of millions of Americans, "NRDC Senior Strategy Director for Health Eric Olson said in a statement. “After more than a decade of delay and litigation, the Environmental Protection Agency must now issue drinking water standards for this widespread and dangerous pollutant.