Which agency established the drinking water standards in the US?

The agency responsible for establishing drinking water standards in the United States is the Environmental Protection Agency, commonly referred to as the EPA. While the acronym "USEPA" stands for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it is essentially another way to refer to the same agency, which means that both "EPA" and "USEPA" are used interchangeably in many contexts.

The EPA was created in response to growing concerns about environmental pollution and public health in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Among its many responsibilities, the agency oversees the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which sets national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally occurring and man-made contaminants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) primarily focuses on public health and disease prevention, not the regulatory standards for drinking water. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deals with disaster management and response, and does not have a role in establishing water quality standards. Hence, the correct reference to the agency that establishes drinking water standards is rightly identified as the EPA or USEPA.