E.P.A. Proposes Weaker Standards on Chemicals Contaminating Drinking Water

WASHINGTON — After pressure from the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency significantly weakened a proposed standard for cleaning up groundwater pollution caused by toxic chemicals that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans and that have been commonly used at military bases.

Standards released by the agency on Thursday eliminated entirely a section that would have addressed how it would respond to what it has described as “immediate threats posed by hazardous waste sites.” Those short-term responses, known as removal actions, can includeexcavating contaminated soil or building a security fence around a toxic area...read more.