United States Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. federal government agency
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| 2025 | EPA plans to issue proposed rules for perchlorate, as mandated by a court order. |
| October 8 2024 | EPA issued the final 'Lead and Copper Rule Improvements' regulation, requiring the removal of all lead pipes within ten years and lowering the lead contamination action level to 10ppb. |
| April 2024 | EPA published final drinking water standards for six PFAS compounds: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX, and PFBS. |
| March 2024 | The United States established new vehicle emission standards for light-duty vehicles, with a phased implementation beginning in the 2027 model year. |
| January 1 2023 | Implementation begins for monitoring 29 perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) and lithium in water systems, targeting very small public water systems (serving less than 3,000 people) and all larger systems. |
| November 2022 | CARB finalized Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule for model years 2026-2035, mandating increasing zero-emission vehicle sales up to 100% by 2035. |
| June 14 2022 | Official start date of the EPA policy (87 Fed. Reg. 22464) requiring comprehensive data on pesticide effectiveness and potential ecological impacts, with requirements for pesticide producers, agricultural farmers, and research universities. |
| May 2022 | Seventeen states sued EPA, arguing that California's emission standards violate equal sovereignty of states. |
| April 14 2022 | EPA published a policy regarding pesticide effectiveness, focusing on gathering reliable data about pesticides' impact on specific invertebrate pests, including those harmful to human health, wood structures, and invasive species. |
| February 2022 | The EPA's new emission standards rule became enforceable, marking a return to more stringent vehicle emissions regulations. |
| 2021 | President Joe Biden proposed $45 billion in the American Jobs Plan for nationwide lead pipe removal. |
| 2021 | President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14057 to reverse Trump administration's actions and improve fuel efficiency standards. |
| December 2021 | EPA published its Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, requiring water systems to monitor for specific chemical substances. |
| December 2021 | The EPA issued a new rule effectively restoring Obama-era emission standards, targeting a fleet-wide emissions reduction to 161 g CO2/mi by the 2026 model year. |
| September 21 2021 | CARB proposed upgrading all engines in cars, trucks, and boats to EPA 'Tier 3' levels by end of 2024 and 'Tier 4' level by 2035. |
| April 2021 | EPA and NHTSA reversed the 2019 rule, returning to previous status quo for California emissions standards. |
| January 15 2021 | EPA published revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, addressing testing, pipe replacement, and related issues in response to the Flint water crisis. |
| 2020 | A study revealed that children in homes with unregulated private wells had a 25% increased risk of elevated blood lead levels compared to children in homes with water utilities regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). |
| September 2020 | Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit against EPA for failing to regulate perchlorate, noting detection in 26 states affecting 26 million people. |
| September 1 2020 | EPA published a final rule implementing the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act amendment. |
| June 18 2020 | EPA withdrew its 2019 proposal and 2011 regulatory determination, claiming proactive steps with state and local governments to address perchlorate contamination. |
| March 2020 | The Trump administration issued a new rule rolling back emission standards, which was criticized by environmentalists, Consumer Reports, and the state of California. |
| September 2019 | California led a coalition of 23 states to sue NHTSA in California v. Chao, challenging the new emissions standard rule. |
| September 19 2019 | Trump administration proposed 'One National Program Rule' asserting only federal government can set emissions standards. |
| July 2019 | Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, and BMW committed to Obama-era mileage goals and California's emission standards. |
| June 26 2019 | EPA published a proposed rule with a maximum contaminant level of 0.056 mg/L for public water systems. |
| 2018 | NPR reported approximately 180 towns were operating lead service line removal programs, using various funding sources including federal, state, and local financing. |
| September 2018 | New Jersey became the first state to publish a standard for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), setting the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) at 13 parts per trillion. |
| January 1 2018 | EPA began enforcing the Application Exclusion Zone requirement under the Worker Protection Standard, establishing a mandatory safety buffer zone around pesticide application areas to protect agricultural workers from direct exposure. |
| 2017 | President Donald Trump instructed the NHTSA and EPA to rollback Obama's CAFE standards, increasing the 2026 CO2 emission target and reducing annual fleet efficiency improvement requirements. |
| 2017 | EPA collaborates with California regulators to establish stricter national emissions standards for model years 2017-2025. |
| November 2017 | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced plans to develop drinking water standards for PFOA. |
| 2016 | A federal district court in New York issued a consent decree regarding perchlorate regulation. |
| 2016 | U.S. Geological Survey began testing tap water from 716 locations across the United States, finding PFAS levels exceeding EPA advisories in approximately 75% of urban area samples and 25% of rural area samples. |
| 2016 | The Flint, Michigan water crisis brought significant public attention to lead contamination in drinking water, spurring widespread investigations and removal programs. |
| 2016 | EPA published drinking water health advisories for PFOA and PFOS. |
| 2016 | Projected fleet-wide fuel economy standard of 35.5 miles per gallon for new cars and trucks, with cars targeting 42 mpg and trucks targeting 26 mpg under the Obama administration's emission standards. |
| 2016 | EPA adopts California's fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards as a national standard for model year 2016. |
| 2015 | California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) implemented stricter regulations on chloropicrin, limiting farmer applications to forty acres per day due to health concerns including coughing fits, eye irritation, and headaches. |
| 2014 | The Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act became effective, changing standards for lead-free plumbing. |
| 2012 | EPA began requiring public water systems to monitor for PFOA and PFOS. |
| 2012 | EPA reported the US municipal solid waste recycle rate was 34.5%. |
| 2011 | EPA announced plans to develop regulations for perchlorate. |
| 2011 | Congress passed the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which would tighten the definition of 'lead-free' plumbing fixtures and fittings. |
| 2011 | New Mexico adopts California vehicle emission standards for model year 2011 and later vehicles. |
| 2010 | Delaware repealed its existing bottle bill, reducing the number of states with container deposit legislation. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Drinking water quality in the United States, Worker Protection Standard, United States vehicle emission standards, Pesticide regulation in the United States & Solid waste policy of the United States, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.