The US could eventually stop using lead pipes under a new EPA decision

Safe Drinking Water – A Key Issue for Kamala Harris in the Presidency of the U.S. Senate and New Environmental Protection Agency Rule

The amount of lead in drinking water is going to be reduced by the new rule from the EPA. More than federal 75 policies meant to limit children’s exposure to lead have been created since the 1970s, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. The work has made a significant reduction in blood lead levels in kids.

During a visit to Wisconsin in the final month of the presidential election, Biden announced the final Environmental Protection Agency rule. The announcement highlights an issue — safe drinking water — that Kamala Harris has prioritized as vice president and during her presidential campaign. The new rule supplants a looser standard set by former President Donald Trump’s administration that did not include a universal requirement to replace lead pipes.

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But no level of lead exposure is considered safe. Adult exposure to lead can cause a number of health issues. Being exposed to lead can also affect brain development in children, potentially lowering IQ and leading to behavioral changes like difficulty concentrating. When people store lead in their bodies, it’s possible that they will expose a fetus to the toxic metal.

“EPA’s action today is a big step in protecting the health of millions of Americans from this problem,” said the nonprofit Natural Resource Defense Council’s health and food expert.

“Folks, what is a government for if it cannot protect the public health?” Biden asked a crowd of union members at a cavernous Department of Public Works warehouse in Milwaukee. The city has the fifth-highest number of lead pipes according to the EPA.

“We’re finally addressing an issue that should’ve been addressed a long time ago in this country,” he said. We are helping to get it done.

The EPA estimates the stricter standard will prevent up to 900,000 infants from having low birth weight and avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease.

Through the bipartisan infrastructure law the agency is making available an additional $2.6 billion for drinking water infrastructure. The agency also is awarding $35 million in competitive grants for programs to reduce lead in drinking water.

The 10-year period isn’t starting for three years, meaning water utilities have time to prepare. A limited number of cities with large volumes of lead pipes may be given a longer timeframe to meet the new standard.

Fifteen Republican attorneys general, led by Kris Kobach of Kansas, have criticized the EPA rule as “unworkable, underfunded and unnecessary.” Congress did not authorize the requirement that homeowners in certain places have to pay to replace pipe sections under their property. Federal grants worth billions of dollars will help communities replace their pipes, the EPA says, but cost decisions are up to local utilities.

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The rule benefits more than the costs, according to Regan. We believe we did it in a legal way that supported the science.

Another hurdle is finding the lead pipes. Many cities don’t know what substances their pipes are made of, while initial pipe inventories are due this month. Without knowing their location, it is hard to efficiently replace them, according to Eric Schwartz, co-founder of BlueConduit, a company formed in response to the Flint crisis that helps cities find their lead pipes.