Groups seeking to ban fluoride from tap water are asking a federal appeals court to affirm a lower court’s conclusion that the EPA had to take some kind of action to address the potential harms fluoride in drinking water may pose to children’s developing brains.

A coalition of groups and individuals led by Food and Water Watch repliedon Monday to the Environmental Protection Agency’s brief asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn a district court’s ruling.

The EPA’s opening brief challenged the coalition’s standing and maintained Senior Judge Edward M. Chen, with the …