The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary regulatory agency responsible for establishing and enforcing standards for drinking water quality in the United States. The EPA develops regulations that ensure safe drinking water through the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. This act mandates the EPA to set national standards for drinking water to protect public health and the environment.
The agency conducts research and analysis to determine contaminants and set limits for their presence in drinking water. This rigorous approach ensures that public drinking water systems provide safe and reliable water to consumers. The establishment of these standards is critical because it helps identify potential sources of contamination, informs treatment practices, and enhances community health protections.
Other agencies, while important in their respective domains, do not primarily focus on drinking water quality standards. For example, the FDA oversees food safety and may regulate bottled water but does not set standards for public drinking water supplies. The WHO provides international guidelines for drinking water quality but does not enforce or implement them nationally in the U.S. OSHA is concerned with workplace safety and health regulations rather than drinking water quality. Hence, the EPA's central role in drinking water quality standards makes it the correct answer.