(AGENPARL) – gio 30 novembre 2023 Issued: Nov 30, 2023 (9:09am EST)
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Biden-Harris Administration Proposes to Strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule to
Protect All Communities in America from Lead in Drinking Water
EPA proposal would accelerate progress toward achieving President Biden’s
goal of removing 100% of lead pipes
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced
a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water
systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years. EPA
is also proposing additional improvements to protect public health, such as
lowering the lead action level and improving sampling protocols utilized by
water systems. Today’s proposed action significantly advances President
Biden’s commitment to remove every lead service line in America to protect
children and vulnerable populations from the negative impacts of lead in
drinking water, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities.
The Biden-Harris Administration is using every tool available to help
communities and water systems Get the Lead Out—including investing a
historic $15 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace lead
service lines, providing technical assistance to communities, and supporting
the development of a national inventory of lead service lines. The Lead and
Copper Rule Improvements are central to the whole of government approach
detailed in the Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.
“Lead in drinking water is a generational public health issue, and EPA’s
proposal will accelerate progress towards President Biden’s goal of
replacing every lead pipe across America once and for all,” said EPA
Administrator Michael S. Regan. “With collaboration and the focused actions
proposed today, EPA is delivering on our charge to protect all Americans,
especially communities of color, that are disproportionately harmed by lead in
drinking water systems.”
“EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper rule is grounded in the best available
science and successful practices utilized by drinking water systems to protect
children and adults from lead in drinking water,” said EPA Assistant
Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Cities like Newark, NJ, Benton Harbor,
MI, and Green Bay, WI have all successfully gotten the lead out of their water
systems. Our proposed rule applies the lessons learned to scale these
successes to every corner of the country,”
The science is clear: there is no safe level of lead exposure. In children, it
can severely harm mental and physical development—slowing down learning and
damaging the brain. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart
disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer.
The proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements are a major advancement in
protecting children and adults from these significant, and irreversible,
health effects from lead in drinking water. Key provisions in the proposal
include:
Achieving 100% Lead Pipe Replacement within 10 years.
Locating legacy lead pipes.
Improving tap sampling.
Lowering the Lead Action Level.
Strengthening protections to reduce exposure.
The proposal would also require water systems to communicate more frequently
and proactively with consumers about lead service lines and the system’s
plans for replacing the lines.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that everyone should be
able to turn on the tap and know that the glass of water they pour is safe to
drink,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda
Mallory. “Today’s announcement from EPA represents a major advancement in
protecting children and families from lead and builds on our actions across
the government to help achieve President Biden and Vice President Harris’s
vision of removing all lead pipes across the country.”
“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that no family, no child,
no American should have to worry about lead exposure – from the water they
drink or air they breathe,” said Assistant to the President and White House
National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “That’s why the President and Vice
President have made replacing every lead pipe in America a centerpiece of
their agenda, mobilizing tens of billions of dollars of investment and putting
the full throw-weight of the federal government behind this push. EPA’s
latest action bolsters this historic effort and implements a key element of
the Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan – more than 10 agencies
stepping forward with dozens of bold actions to take on and tackle this public
health crisis and this staggering source of environmental injustice.”
“Here in Newark, New Jersey, our community persevered through a lead crisis
and I’m proud of the work we did removing all 23,000 lead pipes in the city
in under three years,” said Kareem Adeem, Director of the Newark Department
of Water and Sewer Utilities. “EPA’s new proposed rule will prompt more
communities across the country to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.
This action is commendable and represents a positive step forward toward
safeguarding the health and well-being of current and future generations.”
“A game changer for kids and communities, EPA’s proposed new lead and copper
rule would help ensure that we will never again see the preventable tragedy of
a city, or a child, poisoned by their pipes,” said Mona Hanna-Attisha,
Flint, Michigan pediatrician and Associate Dean for Public Health at Michigan
State University College of Human Medicine. I am thrilled that this rule
centers our children and their potential – and listens to parents and
pediatricians who have been advocating for this for decades.”
Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, EPA will accept
comments for 60 days. The agency will also hold a virtual public hearing on
January 16, 2024, at which time the public will be invited to provide EPA with
verbal comments. For more information about the proposed rule, including a
pre-publication version of the proposal, fact sheets, and directions for
submitting comment and registering for the public hearing, visit the proposed
rule webpage.
Background
EPA is taking a comprehensive approach to getting the lead out, including:
Regulatory Framework. EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
follow the science and EPA’s authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to
strengthen regulatory requirements to address lead in drinking water.
Funding. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $50 billion to support
upgrades to the nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. This
includes $15 billion dedicated to lead service line replacement and $11.7
billion of general Drinking Water State Revolving Funds that can also be used
for lead service line replacement. To date, EPA has awarded over $3.5 billion
in funding for lead service line replacement across the country.   
Technical Assistance. EPA’s water technical assistance (WaterTA), including
the recently launched Get the Lead Out Initiative which will partner with 200
underserved communities nationwide, helps communities identify lead services
lines, develop replacement plans, and apply for funding to get the lead out.
Practical Implementation Tools. Through training, tools, webinars, and case
studies, EPA provides support to drinking water systems to reduce lead
exposure.
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