Why It Matters
A federal lawsuit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of public records raises questions about the agency’s commitment to transparency on drinking water safety. The case involves a decade-old assessment of nitrate contamination that has stalled amid organizational changes at the EPA.
What Happened
Food & Water Watch filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging the EPA violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond to a records request about an assessment of nitrate and nitrite in drinking water. The group submitted its FOIA request in August 2025, asking for documents on the status and future plans of the assessment, records about reconsidering maximum nitrate contamination levels, and correspondence between EPA offices regarding nitrate toxicity.
The EPA indicated in April that it would release an interim batch of records by May 8, 2026, but Food & Water Watch alleges the agency has not produced those documents or provided a new timeline as of early June. The EPA has made no formal determination on the request, released any materials, or committed to a completion date.
Food & Water Watch contends that current EPA drinking water standards for nitrate and nitrite are insufficiently protective. The group argues that exposure to these contaminants below EPA standards is linked to increased cancer risk, thyroid disease, and birth defects. The organization also maintains that a nitrate assessment initiated under the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System was “apparently scuttled” and asks the court to order the agency to release nonexempt information.
The Nitrate Assessment Timeline
The underlying assessment has had a turbulent history. The EPA launched the nitrate evaluation in 2017, suspended it in 2019 during the first Trump administration, and resumed it in 2023 under the Biden administration. The assessment webpage has not been updated since November 2023.
The EPA’s position changed again in July 2025, when the agency announced it was eliminating its Office of Research and Development—the division that housed the Integrated Risk Information System. The closure raised questions about whether the assessment would continue. The EPA declined to comment on the litigation or the status of the nitrate analysis.
By the Numbers
August 2025 — date Food & Water Watch filed its FOIA request
2017 — year the nitrate assessment plan began
2019 — year the assessment was suspended
2023 — year the assessment resumed
July 2025 — when the EPA announced the elimination of its Office of Research and Development
80+ — number of organizations that, along with Food & Water Watch, wrote to the EPA and Department of Health and Human Services urging reduction of nitrate pollution in drinking water
Zoom Out
The lawsuit reflects broader tensions over EPA enforcement and transparency. Environmental advocacy groups have increasingly turned to federal courts to challenge EPA decisions or inaction, particularly during transitions between administrations. Similar cases have involved the agency’s handling of water quality determinations and regulatory timelines.
The nitrate issue touches on agricultural runoff, a primary source of the contaminant, and competing interests between farm economies and water safety standards. The assessment’s history mirrors shifting political priorities: suspended under one administration, resumed under the next, then disrupted again by structural reorganization.
What’s Next
The case will proceed in federal court, where a judge will determine whether the EPA violated FOIA and whether the agency must release the requested records. Food & Water Watch has previously sued the EPA on related matters, including a challenge to the agency’s decision to remove segments of Iowa rivers with high nitrate concentrations from the state’s impaired water list.
Tyler Lobdell, Food & Water Watch Senior Staff Attorney, said in a statement: “The American people deserve an EPA that protects them from pervasive, dangerous pollutants like nitrate in their drinking water. Instead, the Trump administration appears hell bent not only on throwing public health under the bus, but on doing it behind closed doors.”
The EPA’s response to the lawsuit and its next steps on the nitrate assessment remain unclear pending the litigation outcome.