The Environmental Protection Agency has renewed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with eight metals industry associations to support water quality research. The agreement focuses on improving scientific data used to evaluate the effects of metals on aquatic life.
The partnership includes associations representing aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel industries. The agreement enables collaboration between EPA scientists and industry experts to develop updated models and data on metal toxicity in water systems.
The initiative builds on a program launched in 2017 that supports the development of water quality criteria under the Clean Water Act. EPA uses findings from this research to guide recommendations for local water quality standards.
The renewed agreement will support the development of new datasets and simplified modeling tools that better reflect how metals interact with aquatic ecosystems. This is a public-private partnership between the EPA and participating industry associations. The agreement allows both parties to share technical expertise, research capabilities, and data resources to improve regulatory decision-making.