(AGENPARL) – gio 02 maggio 2024 Issued: May 2, 2024 (11:13am EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration announces over $28 million for New Hampshire lead
pipe replacement to advance safe drinking water as part of Investing in
America agenda
EPA announces latest round of funding toward President Biden’s commitment to
replace every lead pipe in the nation, protecting public health and helping to
deliver safe drinking water
BOSTON (May 2, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
announced $28,650,000 from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to
help New Hampshire identify and replace lead service lines, preventing
exposure to lead in drinking water. Lead can cause a range of serious health
impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children. To
protect children and families, President Biden has committed to replacing
every lead pipe in the country. Today’s announcement, funded by the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and available through EPA’s successful
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), takes another major step to
advance this work and the Administration’s commitment to environmental
justice. This funding builds on the Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint
Action Plan and EPA’s Get the Lead Out Initiative.
Working collaboratively, EPA and the State Revolving Funds are advancing the
President’s Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40% of overall benefits from
certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are
marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Lead exposure
disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income families. The
total funding announced through this program to date is expected to replace up
to 1.7 million lead pipes nationwide, securing clean drinking water for
countless families.
“The science is clear, there is no safe level of lead exposure, and the
primary source of harmful exposure in drinking water is through lead pipes,”
said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “President Biden understands it is
critical to identify and remove lead pipes as quickly as possible, and he has
secured significant resources for states and territories to accelerate the
permanent removal of dangerous lead pipes once and for all.”
“Our goal is simple, yet essential: to assure that everyone has clean, safe
drinking water. That’s why identifying and replacing lead service lines is
crucial; it can protect our communities, especially the most vulnerable, from
lead exposure,” said EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “New
England has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and no one—no
matter where they live—should have to worry about lead in their drinking
water and what comes out of the tap. This funding from the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law provides the much-needed resources to help deliver on that
promise—to replace every lead pipe and ensure clean, safe drinking water for
all.”
“No Granite Stater should worry about the safety of their water. As a lead
negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I fought to secure this
funding to ensure that children and families can trust that the water coming
into their homes is safe to consume. I’m proud that this infusion of federal
funding will help New Hampshire get rid of lead pipes and update our aging
infrastructure to better ensure the health and safety of Granite Staters,”
said Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
“Granite Staters deserve access to clean and safe drinking water and I am
glad to see this latest round of federal funding coming to New Hampshire to
identify and replace lead service lines still in use,” said Senator Maggie
Hassan. “I helped negotiate and pass the bipartisan infrastructure law to
make projects like this one — which will remove lead water pipes from
service — possible. These critical investments in infrastructure strengthen
our communities and our economy.”
“Everyone deserves access to safe, clean drinking water, and the safety of
New Hampshire’s drinking water is critical to the health and well-being of
our communities and families across the state,” said Congresswoman Annie
Kuster. “These resources to replace dangerous lead pipes and this
significant funding made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
will go a long way toward making that a reality.”
“Addressing lead pipes in a quick and targeted manner is needed to ensure
New Hampshire families and children have safe, clean drinking water,” said
Congressman Chris Pappas. “I fought to pass the bipartisan infrastructure
law to deliver these resources to New Hampshire, and this funding will support
lead pipe replacement to update our water infrastructure, safeguard public
health, and ensure our communities have clean water. I will continue working
to address contaminants in drinking water and protect the well-being of our
communities.”
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests a historic $15
billion to identify and replace lead service lines. The law mandates that 49%
of funds provided through the DWSRF General Supplemental Funding and DWSRF
Lead Service Line Replacement Funding must be provided as grants and
forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities, a crucial investment for
communities that have been underinvested in for too long. EPA projects a
national total of 9 million lead services lines across the country, based on
data collected from the updated 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey
and Assessment. The funding announced today will be provided specifically for
lead service line identification and replacement and will help every state and
territory fund projects to remove lead pipes and reduce exposure to lead from
drinking water.
The Lead Service Line-specific formula used to allot these funds allows states
to receive financial assistance commensurate with their need as soon as
possible, furthering public health protection nationwide. The formula and
allotments are based on need — meaning that states with more projected lead
service lines receive proportionally more funding.
Alongside the funding announced today, EPA is also releasing a new memorandum
that clarifies how states can use this and other funding to most effectively
reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. Additionally, EPA has developed new
outreach documents to help water systems educate their customers on drinking
water issues, health impacts of lead exposure, service line ownership, and how
customers can support the identification of potential lead service lines in
their homes.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s ambitious initiative to remove lead pipes
has already delivered significant results for families across the nation.
Today’s latest funding will ensure more families benefit from these
unprecedented resources, and support projects like these:
Rollinsford Water & Sewer has received $756,000 through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law to make water system improvements in Front and South
Street. Of the $756,000, approximately $300,000 will fund performing service
line inventory activities and replacing lead service lines, lead “gooseneck”
adapters, and galvanized services.  It is estimated that 20 lead contaminated
services will be replaced as a result of this work.
Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District has received $1,750,000 through the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make water system improvements including
performing service line inventory activities and replacing lead service lines,
lead “gooseneck” adapters, and galvanized services.  It is estimated that 158
lead contaminated services will be replaced as a result of this work.
The City of Claremont has received $2,150,000 through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law to replace water main and lead service lines throughout
their system. Of the $2,150,000, it is estimated that $750,000 will be
utilized to replace the lead service lines.
To view more stories about how the unpreceded investments from the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law are transforming communities across the country, visit
EPA’s Investing in America’s Water Infrastructure Story Map. To read more
about some additional projects that are underway, see EPA’s recently
released Quarterly Report on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funded Clean Water
and Drinking Water SRF projects and explore the State Revolving Funds Public
Portal.  
Today’s allotments are based on EPA’s updated 7th Drinking Water
Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA) including an assessment of
newly submitted information. To date, this is the best available data
collected and assessed on service line materials in the United States. Later
this summer, EPA will release an addendum to the 7th DWINSA Report to Congress
which will include the updated lead service line projections. EPA anticipates
initiating data collection, which will include information on lead service
lines, for the 8th DWINSA in 2025.
For more information, including state-by-state allotment of 2024 funding, and
a breakdown of EPA’s lead Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, please visit
EPA’s Drinking Water website.
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