(AGENPARL) – mar 08 ottobre 2024 Issued: Oct 8, 2024 (5:00am EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration Issues Final Rule Requiring Replacement of Lead
Pipes Within 10 Years, Announces Funding to Provide Clean Water to Schools and
Homes
EPA announces new final regulations and $2.6 Billion under the Biden-Harris
Administration’s Investing in America agenda for clean drinking water
WASHINGTON – Today, October 8, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a
final rule requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and
replace lead pipes within 10 years. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
(LCRI) also require more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower
threshold requiring communities to take action to protect people from lead
exposure in water. In addition, the final rule improves communication within
communities so that families are better informed about the risk of lead in
drinking water, the location of lead pipes, and plans for replacing them. This
final rule is part of the President’s commitment to replace every lead pipe
in the country within a decade, making sure that all communities can turn on
the tap and drink clean water. 
Alongside the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, EPA is announcing $2.6
billion in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding through the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding will flow through the drinking
water state revolving funds (DWSRFs) and is available to support lead pipe
replacement and inventory projects. Additionally, 49% of the funding must be
provided to disadvantaged communities as grant funding or principal
forgiveness that does not have to be repaid. EPA is also announcing the
availability of $35 million in competitive grant funding for reducing lead
in drinking water. Communities are invited to apply directly for grant funding
through this program. Additional federal funding is available to support lead
pipe replacement projects and EPA has developed a website identifying
available funding sources.
EPA estimates that up to 9 million homes are served through legacy lead pipes
across the country, many of which are in lower-income communities and
communities of color, creating disproportionate lead exposure burden for these
families. Eliminating lead exposure from the air people breathe, the water
people drink, and the homes people live in is a crucial component of the
Biden-Harris Administration’s historic commitment to advancing environmental
justice.
The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements establish achievable, common-sense
practices which have been implemented by several states and cities. The public
health and economic benefits of the final rule are estimated to be up to 13
times greater than the costs, and together with new funding announced today
under Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, water
systems will be able to accelerate removal of lead pipes and create
good-paying local jobs in the process.
“We’ve known for decades that lead exposure has serious long-term impacts
for children’s health. And yet, millions of lead service lines are still
delivering drinking water to homes,” said EPA Administrator Michael S.
Regan. “President Biden is putting an end to this generational public health
problem. With the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements and historic investments
in lead pipe replacement, the Biden-Harris Administration is fulfilling its
commitment that no community, regardless of race, geography, or wealth, should
have to worry about lead-contaminated water in their homes.” 
“There is no higher priority than safety, and this announcement advances the
safety of drinking water all across the country,” said Milwaukee Mayor
Cavalier Johnson. “We are making progress through partnerships. And I am so
pleased President Joe Biden and the Environmental Protection Agency are
working with local governments to speed the replacement of lead pipes that
carry drinking water into homes.”
“The EPA’s new lead rule will begin to reverse the massive public health
disaster of lead-contaminated tap water that has affected generations of our
children. Every person has a right to safe and affordable drinking water, no
matter their race, income, or zip code,” said Manish Bapna, president and
CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “NRDC has had the privilege
of working with residents of Flint, Newark, Chicago and beyond to help secure
this meaningful rule and stop the flow of toxic lead from the tap into water
glasses in homes across the nation.”
“A game changer for kids and communities, EPA’s finalized lead and copper
rule improvements will ensure that we will never again see the preventable
tragedy of a city, or a child, poisoned by their lead pipes,” said Mona
Hanna, Flint, Michigan pediatrician and Associate Dean for Public Health at
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “I commend the
Biden-Harris administration for their steadfast efforts to finally update this
ancient rule, and I am thrilled that this rule proactively centers our
children and their potential. The children win!”
The science is clear: Lead is a potent neurotoxin and there is no safe level
of lead exposure, particularly for children. In children, lead can severely
harm mental and physical development, slow down learning, and irreversibly
damage the brain. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart
disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer. If someone is impacted by lead
exposure, there is no known antidote, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.  The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements strengthen
nationwide requirements to protect children and adults from these significant
and irreversible health effects from lead in drinking water. 
Communities across the country have already begun to tackle lead pipes. 
Milwaukee Water Works is on track to replace all remaining lead pipes within
the EPA’s ten-year timeframe. In 2024 alone, Milwaukee received
approximately $30 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to replace
3,400 lead service lines. 
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has received $90 million from the
Administration and will replace more than 8,000 lead service lines this year,
putting the city on track to replace all lead pipes in 10 years.
The Erie, Pennsylvania Water Works has received $49 million from EPA to enable
the city to replace all lead pipes within 5 years instead of 25 years.  
Denver Water has accelerated its efforts through $76 million from the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allowing the city to be on track to replace all
lead pipes within a decade.
The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements will help protect millions of Americans
from exposure to lead in drinking water. EPA estimates that on average, every
year after the LCRI is issued it will: 
protect up to 900,000 infants from having low birthweight. 
prevent Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in up to 2,600
children.
reduce up to 1,500 cases of premature death from heart disease.
prevent up to 200,000 IQ points lost in children. 
Investments in identifying lead pipes, planning for their removal, and
replacing them will create jobs in local communities while strengthening the
foundation of safe drinking water that supports economic opportunity.
For more information about the final rule, including a pre-publication version
of the federal register notice and fact sheets, visit the rule webpage.
Background
EPA is taking a comprehensive approach to getting the lead out, including:
Regulatory Framework: EPA’s final 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 over five years 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. There are a number of
additional pathways for systems to receive financial support for lead service
line replacement. These include billions available as low- to no-cost
financing through annual funding provided through the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program and low-cost financing from the Water
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. Funding may also be
available from other federal agencies, state, and local governments. These
efforts also advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40
Initiative, which sets the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain
Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by
underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Technical Assistance: EPA’s water technical assistance (WaterTA),
including the LSLR Accelerators and the Get the Lead Out Initiative, helps
communities identify lead services lines, develop replacement plans, and apply
for funding, including DWSRF 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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