Federal Independent Agencies
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Things You Need to Know: EPA Unveils Comprehensive PFAS Strategy -- Nearly $1 Billion and Standards Water Systems Can Actually Meet
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Things You Need to Know: EPA Unveils Comprehensive PFAS Strategy -- Nearly $1 Billion and Standards Water Systems Can Actually Meet
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A recap of Monday's announcement and expert panel, where Administrator Zeldin and Secretary Kennedy laid out a full-lifecycle plan to attack PFAS at the source, protect drinking water, and put the Safe Drinking Water Act back on solid legal ground
WASHINGTON - At EPA headquarters on Monday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Things You Need to Know: EPA Unveils Comprehensive PFAS Strategy -- Nearly $1 Billion and Standards Water Systems Can Actually Meet
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A recap of Monday's announcement and expert panel, where Administrator Zeldin and Secretary Kennedy laid out a full-lifecycle plan to attack PFAS at the source, protect drinking water, and put the Safe Drinking Water Act back on solid legal ground
WASHINGTON - At EPA headquarters on Monday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin andU.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the agency's most comprehensive offensive yet against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The event included remarks from Administrator Zeldin, Secretary Kennedy, and EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer, as well as an expert panel on PFAS destruction technology and rolled out a life-cycle strategy built on three commitments: follow the law, follow the science, and give water systems standards they can build a compliance program around with confidence.
The Announcement at a Glance
Key Takeaways
1. The strongest standards stayed in place
The headline takeaway: the enforceable limits for PFOA and PFOS remain 4.0 parts per trillion each, exactly as set in the 2024 PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation. EPA was clear that the science behind these two chemicals is among the strongest for any contaminant it can regulate -and that all monitoring and reporting deadlines under the April 2024 rule remain in force. The agency framed its work as making the standard workable, not weaker.
2. Water systems were given realistic timelines
Officials illustrated how the previous administration's rule set deadlines many water systems simply could not meet -risking costly violations that punish communities without removing a single part per trillion from anyone's tap. EPA's federal exemption framework gives drinking water systems up to two additional years to comply, with a target date of April 2031, in states, territories, and Tribes that have not obtained primacy for those Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).
EPA pointed to three concrete benefits of that extra time:
* Utilities can build the right infrastructure instead of rushing flawed fixes.
* Treatment technology gets cheaper as production scales and innovation matures.
* Ratepayers are protected from rate spikes driven by impossible deadlines.
3. Bolstered legal foundation
EPA proposed to rescind the regulations for four additional PFAS -PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Hazard Index covering those three plus PFBS -citing how the rule was enacted, not the underlying science. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires a sequential process: propose to regulate, take public comment on whether regulation is warranted, finalize that determination, and only then propose a standard. The agency said the prior administration collapsed those steps, denying the public its required chance to weigh in and leaving the rule legally vulnerable.
EPA stressed this proposal corrects that procedural error and nothing more -and that once the fix is final, the agency will evaluate these PFAS for regulation the right way. EPA cannot predetermine the outcome and noted it is entirely possible the result will be more stringent requirements -but built on a record that holds up.
4. The strategy goes upstream, to the source
Rather than asking ratepayers to clean up pollution someone else created, EPA said it is advancing technology-based effluent limits and pretreatment standards for the industrial categories that discharge PFAS -stopping contamination before it reaches a source of drinking water.
5. Nearly $1 billion was directed to the communities that need it most
Through the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant, EPA announced nearly $1 billion to help communities address PFAS and other emerging contaminants, with a focus on small and rural systems. That funding is reinforced by hands-on help through EPA's PFAS OUT and RealWaterTA initiatives -free technical assistance, water-quality testing, technical planning, operator training, and funding navigation -so every system, regardless of size, has a realistic path to compliance.
Inside the Expert Panel
Assistant Administrator Kramer led an expert panel on PFAS health threats and the emerging destruction and disposal technologies designed to eliminate these chemicals for good.
Panelists included:
Dave Ross -Executive Vice President, Veolia North America
Barry Shadrix -Global Director, CETCO
Frank Cassou -Chief Executive Officer, Cyclopure
Michelle Bellanca -CEO and Co-Founder, Claros Technologies
Mathias (Matt) Meersseman -U.S. Chief Executive Officer, Desotec
The discussion centered on how destruction technologies can permanently eliminate PFAS rather than simply relocating it.
News coverage and stakeholder conversation surrounding the announcement can be found below:
KRCR: EPA, HHS announces nearly $1B for states to tackle unsafe-levels of PFAS in drinking water Exit EPA's website
OAN: EPA: $1B in grant funding targeted at combating PFAS or 'forever chemicals' in drinking water Exit EPA's website
Newsmax: EPA Proposes New PFAS Drinking Water Plan Exit EPA's website
Washington Examiner: EPA and HHS propose rescinding parts of Biden's PFAS limits in drinking water Exit EPA's website
WUSF: EPA announces plans to change restrictions on some 'forever chemicals' Exit EPA's website
NTD: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Make Major PFAS Announcement Exit EPA's website
KKTV: Colorado to receive $44.3 million to address "forever chemicals" in drinking water as EPA cuts regulations Exit EPA's website
PA Environmental Digest: EPA Announces $39.2 Million For Pennsylvania To Address PFAS 'Forever Chemicals,' Emerging Contaminants In Drinking Water Exit EPA's website
MAHA Action on X: Lee Zeldin and the EPA are declaring war on forever chemicals.... Exit EPA's website
MAHA Action on X: RFK Jr. says PFAS contamination in drinking water has harmed communities all across America for decades... Exit EPA's website
Eric Daugherty on X: JUST IN: EPA chief Lee Zeldin just revealed $1 BILLION to help address "forever chemicals" in drinking water of rural and small communities... Exit EPA's website
Additional details about the PFAS announcement can be found here.
Full length footage of the event can be found here Exit EPA's website.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/things-you-need-know-epa-unveils-comprehensive-pfas-strategy-nearly-1-billion-and
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute: When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute issued the following news release:
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When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
Tracking Animal Adaptations During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Scientists Show How Human Presence and Habitat Modifications Affect the Way Animals Behave
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A new analysis of GPS tracking data from 37 animal species, paired with cellphone location data from across the United States, shows that not only does animal behavior change when humans modify their environment, but
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute issued the following news release:
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When Human Movement Changes, Different Animal Species Respond in Their Own Ways
Tracking Animal Adaptations During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Scientists Show How Human Presence and Habitat Modifications Affect the Way Animals Behave
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A new analysis of GPS tracking data from 37 animal species, paired with cellphone location data from across the United States, shows that not only does animal behavior change when humans modify their environment, butthat animals respond directly to the physical presence of humans themselves. The study, an international collaboration led by the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute; UC Santa Barbara; the University of St. Andrews; and, Yale University, published today, May 21, in Science, also showed that animals' responses to landscape modification and human presence varies widely from species to species, suggesting that more nuanced approaches to wildlife management and animal conservation may be possible.
In 2020, COVID-19 lockdown policies went into effect that changed the way humans moved around. Despite the tragic circumstances that led to the lockdown, this situation gave the research team a rare opportunity to observe the effects of landscape modification and human presence on animal movements separately. During the same period in 2019 and 2020, the team analyzed GPS data on 4,581 mammals and birds across the continental United States on a weekly basis. But to measure the presence of humans, the team needed a more precise method than what is typically available.
Due to the dearth of publicly accessible human location data, scientists seeking to understand how human movement affects animals typically examine proxies for human presence such as urbanization, agriculture and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown status. Yet these proxies do not offer a precise measure of human movement itself. So, the research team was the first to use anonymized geolocation data from people's cell phones at neighborhood-level resolution to study the impacts of human presence on animal movement.
"The cell phone data we used was made available to researchers during the pandemic to help reveal the impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns," said Scott Yanco, a research ecologist at the Zoo and co-lead author of the study. "Typically, these data are difficult or expensive to access, which made this a rare opportunity for us to quantify how human presence impacts wildlife, and to demonstrate that there is more to consider than just land modification to create robust conservation plans."
The research team studied human impacts on the physical area covered by each individual animal and each individual animal's environmental niche, a concept that describes how animals interact with habitats and resources. Overall, the team found that for most species, the impacts of humans cannot be understood without considering human presence.
As humans restricted their movements during the pandemic, about two-thirds of the mammal and bird species studied exhibited changes in the size of either the area they occupied or their environmental niche. For the species that were impacted by both human presence and landscape modification--more than half of those studied--the degree to which one factor affected an animal largely depended on the impact of the other. Further, about two thirds of mammal species and two fifths of bird species responded to human activity by shrinking their habitat, with human presence having the greatest impact in landscapes that were less modified, such as a national park versus a city.
The impacts seen among the animals varied widely among species. Wolves, for example, unlike the other animals studied, responded to humans by expanding their habitats, possibly due to their fraught history with humans and their desire to spread out and away from human activity. White-tailed deer, meanwhile, expanded their niches as landscape modification increased but shrank them as humans increased their presence, and sandhill cranes showed the opposite response.
"These findings highlight the critical importance of species-based conservation," said Ruth Oliver, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a co-lead author on the study. "Every species has different habitat requirements, has its own behavioral tendencies and faces unique threats. Effective conservation requires that we understand the particular challenges that each species faces."
This study is a part of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which brought together researchers from around the world to investigate how wildlife responded to COVID-19 lockdowns, a period they termed the "anthropause." Previous work by this initiative has revealed widespread behavioral changes in mammals globally, dramatic shifts in marine traffic patterns and the importance of measuring human movements in understanding wildlife responses to the Anthropocene (the time period when human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth).
"Through collaboration with over 600 partners around the globe, our initiative managed to collate tracking data for about 13,000 animals," said Christian Rutz, a professor at the University of St. Andrews and chair of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative. "It is inspiring how this research community pulled together during a period of crisis to learn important conservation lessons."
The findings from this study highlight the opportunity for research using emerging technologies to study the movements of both animals and people to enable more nuanced and targeted approaches towards conserving wildlife. The data let the researchers consider not just landscape modifications but also the distinct interactions between human infrastructure and the presence of humans themselves and their impact on individual species.
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About the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) leads the Smithsonian's global effort to save species, better understand ecosystems and train future generations of conservationists. Its two campuses are home to some of the world's most critically endangered species. Always free of charge, the Zoo's 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., features 2,200 animals representing 400 species and is a popular destination for children and families. At the Conservation Biology Institute's 3,200-acre campus in Virginia, breeding and veterinary research on 264 animals representing 20 species provide critical data for the management of animals in human care and valuable insights for conservation of wild populations. NZCBI's more than 300 staff and scientists work in Washington, D.C., Virginia and with partners at field sites across the United States and in more than 30 countries to save wildlife, collaborate with communities and conserve native habitats. NZCBI is a long-standing accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
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View journal here: http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq3396
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/when-human-movement-changes-different-animal-species-respond-their-own-ways
Inter-American Development Bank: 'Can Evidence-Based Information Shift Preferences Towards Trade Policy?'
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "Can Evidence-Based Information Shift Preferences Towards Trade Policy?"
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Public skepticism toward free trade has been rising across countries, amid a growing backlash against globalization (Colantone et al. 2022). These sentiments stem in part from longstanding concerns over how openness to trade affects jobs and wages, particularly in the manufacturing sector.1 But the recent resurgence of protectionism has notably been driven also
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "Can Evidence-Based Information Shift Preferences Towards Trade Policy?"
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Public skepticism toward free trade has been rising across countries, amid a growing backlash against globalization (Colantone et al. 2022). These sentiments stem in part from longstanding concerns over how openness to trade affects jobs and wages, particularly in the manufacturing sector.1 But the recent resurgence of protectionism has notably been driven also"from the top down" by political leaders (Goldberg and Reed 2023), who have tapped into and amplified the public's grievances during episodes such as Brexit in the U.K., the U.S.-China trade war, and the Covid-19 supply chain disruptions.2 This has been enabled by the rise of mobile devices and social media, which provide political actors with platforms to disseminate their messaging frequently and at scale. Much of this rhetoric has been skeptical and even hostile toward globalization, often without providing systematic information on the benefits and costs of trade.
In this paper, we investigate whether and how evidence-based information on the gains and losses from trade can shape preferences towards trade policy. This research question is all the more pressing in the current political and media environment where economic arguments are widely disseminated but often in partisan forms, making it unclear whether objective narratives can foster more informed views on trade policy among the general public. Specifically, we set out to understand whether information drawn from economics research, conveyed in a concise and accessible manner, can shape perceptions toward trade. Are people receptive to such information and willing to update their trade policy preferences accordingly? Or might this instead trigger unintended reactions and consequences?
To date, studies on what shapes individuals' trade policy preferences have (barring a few exceptions) been largely silent on the role of information. Economists have conventionally viewed these preferences as mainly driven by whether openness to trade aligns with one's material selfinterest (Baldwin 1989, Rodrik 1995), one's concerns about how trade will impact broader society (Mansfield and Mutz 2009), or one's sociopolitical identity (Grossman and Helpman 2021). Much less is known about how information itself, particularly information drawn from research, affects views on trade. From an empirical standpoint, a key challenge lies in distinguishing the effect of information from alternative forces, including the possibility that individuals might select their information sources based on their pre-existing beliefs (Gentzkow and Shapiro 2010, 2011).
We address this challenge by developing a series of survey-based experiments, which we conducted annually between 2018 and 2022 on representative samples of the U.S. general population, with responses from around 18,000 individuals over these five years. By randomizing the assignment of participants to information treatments, we are able to identify the causal impact of exposure to specific economic arguments on stated trade policy preferences.
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View full text here: https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Can-Evidence-Based-Information-Shift-Preferences-Towards-Trade-Policy.pdf
[Category: IADB]
Inter-American Development Bank: 'An Anatomy of the Great Reallocation in US Supply Chain Trade'
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "An Anatomy of the Great Reallocation in US Supply Chain Trade."
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Over the past decade, international trade and the conduct of trade policy have been severely upended by a series of events in quick succession. For the US, the wheels were set in motion with its adoption of unilateral tariff actions starting in 2018 under the first Trump administration.
These especially targeted imports from China, notably with the Section 301 tariffs
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following white paper in May 2026 entitled "An Anatomy of the Great Reallocation in US Supply Chain Trade."
Here are excerpts:
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Introduction
Over the past decade, international trade and the conduct of trade policy have been severely upended by a series of events in quick succession. For the US, the wheels were set in motion with its adoption of unilateral tariff actions starting in 2018 under the first Trump administration.
These especially targeted imports from China, notably with the Section 301 tariffsintended ostensibly to counter China's unfair practices on trade and market access. Implemented over four rounds in 2018-2019, these drove the US' average tariff rate against China up by around an additional 20 percentage points as of the end of 2019 (Bown, 2021; Chor and Li, 2024).1 By 2020-2021, amid the supply chain disruptions and bottlenecks during the Covid-19 pandemic, this push to reduce the US' dependence on China gained urgency with calls for more "friendshoring", "nearshoring", and even "reshoring".
These tariff shocks initiated a reshuffling in international trade and sourcing patterns, shifting the US away from China as a trade partner. Between 2017-2022, China's share in US direct imports fell from around 21% to 16%, with countries such as Vietnam and Mexico gaining much of this US import market share (see also, Dang et al., 2023; Grossman et al., 2024; Freund et al., 2024; Garred and Yuan, 2025). In our prior work (Alfaro and Chor, 2023), we had characterized this "great reallocation" in US supply chains as "looming" on the horizon. However, it is fair to say that this adjective can now be dropped without qualifications. While there was some initial uncertainty over whether the Biden administration might roll back the turn toward protectionism, it became clear by the middle of the 2020-2024 presidential term that the 2018-2019 tariff policies would remain largely in place for the foreseeable future. Hopes of a return to freer trade have since been further dashed by the Liberation Day tariff salvos fired off on 2 April 2025 by the second Trump administration.
In this paper, we set out to provide an update on this shakeup in US import patterns, to document the far-reaching impact of this ongoing reallocation in global trade and supply chain activity that has been centered for decades on the US as a key destination market. Our agenda is inherently descriptive. With a longer span of trade data up to 2025 now available, we are able to document the response of US import sourcing to the 2018-2019 wave of tariff shocks over the short- to medium-run. We investigate more closely the responses in these trade flows for detailed product codes (up to the HS 6-digit level of disaggregation), while correlating these with industry and product characteristics to ascertain the types of goods in which these sourcing shifts are occurring. We also take a preliminary look at the early aftermath of the Liberation Day tariff announcements, to examine the imprint these already have made on US import sourcing decisions.
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View full text here: file:///Users/moirasirois/Downloads/An-Anatomy-of-the-Great-Reallocation-in-US-Supply-Chain-Trade.pdf
[Category: IADB]
Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
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Interview by Laura DeStefano
After several passengers aboard a cruise ship bound from South America were diagnosed with hantavirus in May 2026, public concern quickly grew around the rare but potentially deadly disease -particularly after suggestions that passengers were infected by the Andes strain of the virus. This strain is one of the few hantaviruses associated with limited human-to-human transmission.
To better understand the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Hantavirus: What People Should Know About the Rare but Serious Virus
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Interview by Laura DeStefano
After several passengers aboard a cruise ship bound from South America were diagnosed with hantavirus in May 2026, public concern quickly grew around the rare but potentially deadly disease -particularly after suggestions that passengers were infected by the Andes strain of the virus. This strain is one of the few hantaviruses associated with limited human-to-human transmission.
To better understand thelevel of risk, we spoke with Carlos del Rio, MD, a distinguished professor of Medicine, Global Health and Epidemiology at Emory University and the International Secretary of the National Academy of Medicine. In this interview, del Rio explains what hantavirus is, how it spreads, why the Andes strain has drawn attention, and why experts say the average American should not panic. He also discusses what hantavirus reveals about the broader challenge of emerging infectious diseases in a changing world.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To start at the most basic level, what is hantavirus?
Hantavirus is not a single virus, but rather a family of viruses that primarily infect rodents. Humans are considered " incidental " hosts, meaning they are not the virus's usual target. There are two broad categories of hantaviruses : the "Old World" type, which is mostly found in Europe and Asia and can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (kidney involvement), and the "New World" type, which is found in North and South America and is associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory illness. The Andes strain is a New World type.
Each strain of hantavirus has a specific rodent host. The primary host of the Sin Nombre Virus, which is responsible for the majority of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome cases in North America is the Deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus ). The long-tailed pygmy race rat ( Oligoryzomys longicuaudatus ) is the reservoir of the Andes virus in Sou th America.
What's different about the Andes strain?
The Andes strain, found primarily in southern Chile and Argentina, is unusual because it 's the only strain of hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission.
Researchers still do not fully understand why the Andes strain behaves differently. Evidence suggests transmission requires close or prolonged contact, but there have been outbreaks in which people with relatively limited exposure also became infected. Fortunately, these outbreaks have remained small and relatively contained.
How do people get infected?
People usually become infected after inhaling viral particles found in urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. The virus enters through the lungs and begins to replicate in the body. One unusual aspect of hantavirus is that it can have a very long incubation period. While most cases develop symptoms be tween 14 - 17 days after infection, the incubation period can be as long as 8 weeks. That is why passengers from the cruise ship are being asked to quarantine for such a long time.
What are the symptoms and how is it treated?
Early symptoms can resemble the flu: fever, headaches, fatigue, and muscle aches. But in more severe cases, the illness can progress rapidly to shortness of breath and respiratory failure as the virus disrupts the barrier between the lungs and the bloodstream, allowing fluid to leak into the lungs.
The mortality rate for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome can reach up to 50 percent, depending on whether patients have access to advanced medical care like ICUs and mechanical ventilation. Part of the reason it's so dangerous is that there is no specific antiviral treatment or approved vaccine.
Should the average person in the United States be worried about catching hantavirus?
For most Americans, the risk is extremely low. Hantavirus cases in the United States are rare -generally only a few dozen cases are reported each year. Most infections occur in rural areas of the Southwest, including parts of New Mexico and Arizona.
This cruise ship outbreak will not be "the next COVID." Hantavirus is very difficult to transmit from person to person, which fundamentally limits its pandemic potential. Respiratory viruses that spread easily between humans are the ones public health experts worry about most when it comes to global pandemics.
That said, scientists are very interested in this outbreak as it offers the opportunity to better understand transmission and the natural history of the infection. Understanding how these viruses behave helps prepare us for future outbreaks.
Is there anything people can do to protect themselves?
The most important prevention strategy if you live in an endemic area is avoiding exposure to rodents and their droppings, especially in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas. People cleaning cabins, sheds, garages, or vehicles that may have rodent activity should wear gloves and masks, ventilate the area beforehand, and avoid sweeping or vacuuming dry droppings, which can aerosolize the virus.
Which viruses have greater pandemic potential?
Viruses such as avian influenza ( bird flu ) already have characteristics that make them more concerning from a pandemic perspective. They spread more efficiently, infect the respiratory tract, and have clearer pathways for human transmission. Novel respiratory viruses are always a major focus because people often have little or no preexisting immunity to them.
Is there a relationship between climate change and animal-to-human virus transmission ?
Yes. Climate change and environmental disruption are altering where animals live and how humans interact with them. Rodent populations and habitats can shift as temperatures and ecosystems change, potentially bringing disease-carrying animals into new areas.
We are likely to see more emerging infectious diseases in the future, which is why continued surveillance and research remain so important.
What is the broader lesson from hantavirus and other emerging infections?
The biggest lesson is that new infectious diseases can emerge unexpectedly. COVID-19 reminded the world how quickly a novel pathogen can spread. We had no idea that was coming.
So, even if a disease currently poses only a low risk to the general public - like hantavirus - scientists and public health officials still need to monitor it carefully, so we are prepared for whatever comes next.
Read the latest insights from the NAM community.
Laura DeStefano is the Director of Strateg ic Communications & Engagement at the National Academy of Medicine and a science communicator.
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Original text here: https://nam.edu/news-and-insights/hantavirus-what-people-should-know-about-the-rare-but-serious-virus/
EPA Provides $944,000 to Mid-Atlantic States to Monitor Water Quality at Beaches and Protect Swimmers
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Provides $944,000 to Mid-Atlantic States to Monitor Water Quality at Beaches and Protect Swimmers
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PHILADELPHIA - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $944,000 in grant funding that Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will use to monitor water quality at beaches and to notify the public if elevated levels of bacteria make swimming unsafe.
"Across the Mid-Atlantic, our beaches are treasured places for residents and visitors alike," said EPA Region 3
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Provides $944,000 to Mid-Atlantic States to Monitor Water Quality at Beaches and Protect Swimmers
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PHILADELPHIA - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $944,000 in grant funding that Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will use to monitor water quality at beaches and to notify the public if elevated levels of bacteria make swimming unsafe.
"Across the Mid-Atlantic, our beaches are treasured places for residents and visitors alike," said EPA Region 3Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey. "This funding strengthens water-quality monitoring and helps states issue timely public advisories when conditions aren't safe, so people can make informed choices and enjoy our beautiful beaches with peace of mind, advancing EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. At its heart, it's simple: sound science, steady monitoring, and clear advisories that protect our communities."
This funding is authorized by the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act and advances EPA's goals of enhancing cooperative federalism and ensuring that every American has access to clean and safe water, two key pillars of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative.
Funding amounts for Mid-Atlantic states is as follows:
* Delaware $209,000
* Maryland $258,000
* Pennsylvania $214,000
* Virginia $263,000
Learn more about BEACH Act grants.
Before heading to the beach, check the relevant state, Tribal or territorial beach program website for closing or advisory information.
Background
To be eligible for BEACH Act grants, states, Tribes, and territories must have coastal or Great Lakes recreational waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. They must also have a water quality standards program and EPA-approved numeric recreational water quality standards for coastal waters. Additionally, eligible entities must meet 11 performance criteria for implementing the monitoring, assessment, and notification components of their beach program. Each grantee receives an amount based on the length of the beach season, the number of miles of shoreline and the populations of coastal counties.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-provides-944000-mid-atlantic-states-monitor-water-quality-beaches-and-protect
Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.) issued the following news:
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Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
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Amtrak hit a major milestone today: one million customer trips on its NextGen Acela fleet.
Amtrak President Roger Harris joined a team to thank customers at Washington Union Station with surprise and delights.
"Our guests are at the heart of this milestone - one million trips on NextGen Acela is a powerful signal of the demand for world-class passenger rail in America," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "It's our joy to celebrate
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 22 -- Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corp.) issued the following news:
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Amtrak Celebrates One Million Customer Trips on NextGen Acela
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Amtrak hit a major milestone today: one million customer trips on its NextGen Acela fleet.
Amtrak President Roger Harris joined a team to thank customers at Washington Union Station with surprise and delights.
"Our guests are at the heart of this milestone - one million trips on NextGen Acela is a powerful signal of the demand for world-class passenger rail in America," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "It's our joy to celebratewith our customers this Memorial Day Weekend, as you travel and experience the best of high-speed, premium rail."
With demand surging, we are adding even more NextGen Acela departures, giving riders more flexibility on America's busiest passenger rail line.
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Original text here: https://media.amtrak.com/2026/05/amtrak-celebrates-one-million-customer-trips-on-nextgen-acela/
