This Week at the Environmental Protection Agency — week of June 29, 2026

This week, the EPA proposed a new round of drinking water monitoring, finalized pesticide residue limits for nine crops and food products, and approved a series of air quality plans for states. Most actions are administrative updates that clarify legal requirements for farmers, regulators, and industry rather than changes consumers will notice immediately.

Drinking Water Monitoring

• The EPA is proposing its sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), which would require many public water systems to test for 30 chemicals that are not currently regulated at the federal level.
• This rule would not set legal limits or require water systems to remove these chemicals. Instead, it would collect data on how widespread these substances are in drinking water, with the results informing future regulatory decisions under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Pesticide Residue Limits on Food Crops

• The EPA finalized tolerances — legal maximum residue levels — for the fungicide fluoxapiprolin on specific vegetables and fruits, defining how much of the chemical can remain on food sold in interstate commerce.
• New limits were set for the herbicide epyrifenacil on canola, field corn, soybeans, and wheat at 0.01 parts per million, finalizing a petition from the manufacturer Valent.
• The agency also set residue limits for the plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride on wheat, barley, oats, and triticale, as well as on meat and dairy products from cattle, goats, hogs, sheep, horses, and poultry.
• Limits were finalized for the herbicide diflufenican on corn grain, corn forage, corn stover, soybean seed, soybean forage, and soybean hay.
• The EPA set new tolerances for the insecticide bifenthrin on crops such as celtuce, kiwifruit, coffee green beans, and several types of peas and beans, while removing old entries replaced by the new standards.
• These actions do not change whether the chemicals are approved for use; they establish how much residue can legally remain on treated crops when sold, giving farmers and food manufacturers clear compliance thresholds.

Air Quality Status and State Plans

• The EPA redesignated the Cleveland, Ohio, air quality area from nonattainment to attainment for the 2015 ozone standard, based on certified monitoring data from 2023 through 2025. The change relieves Ohio of certain federal planning requirements for the area while the region must maintain those levels over the next decade.
• The EPA finalized approval of updates to Oklahoma’s state air quality plan, covering its New Source Review program and general air permitting provisions. The action confirms the state program aligns with federal standards.
• The agency approved Delaware’s second maintenance plan for fine particulate matter in New Castle County, covering the Delaware portion of the Philadelphia metropolitan area and extending compliance monitoring through 2034.
• The EPA proposed updates to Alabama’s State Implementation Plan regarding vehicle emissions from roads and transit projects. Without an approved conformity plan, the state could face delays or lose access to federal transportation funds in areas with poor air quality.

Emissions Standards for Solid Waste Incinerators

• The EPA proposed federal emissions standards for solid waste incineration units that began construction on or before August 31, 2020, and have not been significantly modified or reconstructed since at least August 29, 2025.
• The rule establishes baseline federal requirements that states must include in their implementation plans to control emissions from these facilities. The immediate impact falls on facility owners and state regulators, and it ensures a uniform level of air quality protection across jurisdictions without their own stricter rules.

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This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.