On Oct. 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) will 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 has been a priority for the Biden EPA as it aims to see every lead pipe in the country replaced within a decade.
Alongside the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, President Joe Biden, speaking at an event announcing the final rule on Oct. 8, announced an additional $2.6 billion in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The 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 it says are in lower-income communities and communities of color, creating disproportionate lead exposure burden for these families.
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.”
EPA said the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements will help protect millions of Americans from exposure to lead in drinking water. The agency 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.
“For too long, local communities have known how important it was to deal with this problem. It hadn’t been given the national priority it demanded though. I’m here today to tell you that I’m finally insisting that it gets prioritized, and I’m insisting it get done,” Biden said at the Oct. 8 event. “There’s no safe — no safe level of lead exposure, period. None. And the only way forward is to replace every lead pipeline and connect the American people to clean water.”
The LCRI compliance deadline will come in 2027, but for now, water systems will continue to be subject to the existing Lead and Copper Rule. According to the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), utilities may also be subject to 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions requirements that systems must comply with this week — including submission of the initial lead service line inventory, notifications of known or potential lead service lines, and 24-hour Tier 1 public notification of a lead action level exceedance (at 0.015 mg/L).
“In February AMWA submitted detailed comments on the proposed LCRI that highlighted some of these local-level challenges – including cost, work crew and supply availability, and private property access,” said AMWA CEO Tom Dobbins. “AMWA is currently evaluating the extent to which each of these issues was addressed in the final regulation, but the association remains concerned that the ability of thousands of community water systems to comply with the rule could depend on factors beyond their control.”
American Water Works Association (AWWA) CEO David LaFrance said that while the LCRI is another important step in the nation’s efforts to reduce exposure to lead from all sources, there will be challenges.
“As we review the technical details of the lengthy rule, we anticipate there will be challenges to overcome,” said LaFrance. “For example, in many communities, lead service lines are partly on private property and owned by the property owner rather than the utility. The new rule requires water utilities to replace service lines under their ‘control.’ We share EPA’s desire to remove lead service lines in their entirety. However, this portion of the rule needs further explanation to assure water utilities are operating within their legal authority.”
LaFrance added that while the federal funding being approved for lead service line replacement is helpful, he reiterated that AWWA has estimated the cost of replacing lead service lines nationwide could top $90 billion.
AWWA added it will continue to evaluate the rule in greater detail over the next several days and continue to provide insights to members and others.
Sources: EPA, AWWA, AMWA
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