EPA to support lead service line removal, develop new regulation

EPA plans to collaborate with local, state, and federal partners to support the Biden administration’s goal of removing all lead service lines. The agency also said it will develop a new regulation to strengthen its lead and copper rules for drinking water.

In a press release, EPA said that it is “committed to using every tool available — statutory authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act, technical assistance, funding, and more — to protect all Americans from lead in drinking water.” The agency recently reviewed the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) and concluded that there are significant opportunities to improve the rule in order to support the proactive removal of lead service lines and better protect public health. EPA is taking a two-prong approach:

• As of December 16, 2021, the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions went into effect to advance inventories of critical lead service lines, a necessary step to achieve the eventual total removal of all lead service lines. EPA intends to issue guidance on the implementation of this rule in the form of best practices, case studies, and templates to help develop lead service line inventories.
• EPA will seek to strengthen the regulatory framework with a new proposed rule, the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. The agency hopes that the regulatory improvements will more quickly facilitate the removal of lead service lines and may also present opportunities to strengthen requirements for tap sampling as well as reduce confusion and complexity related to action levels and trigger levels. The end goal, aided by non-regulatory activities, is to more equitably protect public health and ensure safer drinking water.

In support of these actions, EPA will also provide significant funding, including a 2022 allocation of $2.9 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to states, tribes, and territories to be used for lead service line removal. This allocation is the first of five, eventually providing $15 billion in funding for lead service line removal.

EPA’s announcement of these actions came on the same day the Biden administration announced its whole of government Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.

Key to remember: EPA is prioritizing efforts to protect communities from lead in drinking water by supporting lead service line removal as well as developing a new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements regulation.