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Upholding a Trump-era environmental policy, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it will not regulate a drinking water contaminant that has been linked to brain damage in infants. The agency said the Trump administration’s decision in 2020 not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water was made with the “best available peer reviewed science.” The chemical is used in rocket fuel and fireworks. (Naishadham, 4/1)

The announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency shocked public health advocates who had denounced the Trump administration in 2020 for opting not to regulate perchlorate. The chemical is a component in rocket fuel, ammunition and explosives. Exposure can damage the development of fetuses and children and cause a measurable decrease in I.Q. in newborns. The Trump administration had found that perchlorate did not meet the criteria for regulation because it did not appear in drinking water “with a frequency and at levels of public health concern.” Activists at the time accused the E.P.A. of disregarding science. (Friedman, 3/31)

A pair of energy companies operating in Utah’s Uinta Basin reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state over alleged pollution violations contributing to that region’s gnarly ozone problem. The recent settlement will bolster Utah’s efforts to clamp down on pollution by delivering half of the combined $3.7 million in civil penalties to regulators for deposit in the state’s Environmental Mitigation and Response Fund for air quality-related projects. (O'Donoghue, 3/31)

An industrial swath of northeast Minneapolis has been upgraded from a state Superfund site to a federal one, making it eligible for federal funds to clean up volatile organic compounds and toxic vapor that has plagued the Como neighborhood for decades. The site is called the Southeast Hennepin Superfund because it encompasses a large area between NE. Broadway and E. Hennepin Avenue, which has historically included a foundry, outdoor motor manufacturer, metal finisher and a gravel pit for the disposal of industrial waste. Residential properties are clustered along its southern edge. (3/31)

One hundred young people will be the driving force behind a "first-of-its-kind" air pollution study in Cincinnati due to a $75,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Groundwork Ohio River Valley plans to deploy 10 sensor stations as well as dozens of smaller portable sensors to get an unprecedented view of air quality in the areas of Lower Price Hill and South Fairmount. (Knight, 3/29)

President Biden’s “moonshot” biomedical research agency will be housed within the National Institutes of Health, according to two sources familiar with the decision-making process. The decision marks the end of a lengthy debate in Washington about whether the new agency, known as ARPA-H, should be independent or exist as a wing of the NIH. But there’s a twist: Instead of reporting to the NIH director, the new agency’s leader will report directly to the secretary of health and human services. (Facher, 3/31)