EPA — Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency responsible for protecting human health and the environment by regulating pollutants — including the drinking-water limits, hazardous-substance designations, and pesticide registrations at the center of the PFAS and glyphosate records.
What It Is
Established in 1970, the EPA writes and enforces the federal rules governing air, water, soil, and chemical safety. Two of its powers recur throughout the environmental record on this site: under the Safe Drinking Water Act it can set enforceable limits on contaminants in tap water, and under federal pesticide law (FIFRA) it decides whether a chemical like glyphosate may be sold and on what terms.
Because the EPA's determinations carry the weight of "the government has decided," the question of who shaped that determination — the regulated industry, or independent science — is where the environmental cases turn.
The EPA and PFAS
In April 2024, the EPA finalized the first-ever national drinking-water standards for PFAS, setting enforceable limits of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS — the two most-studied "forever chemicals" — and limits for several others. That same year it designated PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law (CERCLA), opening the door to cleanup liability.
In May 2026, the Trump administration moved to roll back key parts of those Biden-era drinking-water limits, as documented in national reporting. The same agency that set the standard can weaken it — which is why the standard, and the science behind it, are contested ground.
The EPA and Glyphosate
The EPA registers and periodically re-evaluates glyphosate, the world's most-used herbicide. Its assessments have concluded glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic to humans" — a conclusion in tension with the World Health Organization's cancer agency (IARC), and one that court records have alleged was influenced by manufacturer-shaped "independent" reviews. The dispute over whose science the EPA relied on is detailed in the glyphosate record.
Why It Matters — The Same Playbook
The EPA is the federal authority at the center of the environmental cases AbilityForge documents. In both the PFAS and glyphosate records, the recurring pattern is the same one seen in healthcare: an interested party helps shape the supposedly-independent science or process, and then "the EPA's own determination" is cited as neutral cover. The agency is not the villain of the story — capture of the agency is.
The Same Playbook — Healthcare, Glyphosate, PFAS →Appears On
Related Terms
Sources: U.S. EPA PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (final rule, April 2024) and CERCLA hazardous-substance designation (2024); EPA glyphosate registration review under FIFRA; reporting on the May 2026 rollback of PFAS drinking-water limits. Regulatory status is subject to change.