Lead Pipes Should Be Replaced Within 10 Years, Biden Administration Proposes

Topline

The Biden administration proposed new requirements Thursday to replace virtually all lead pipes in the U.S. within in a decade, fulfilling a major promise the president’s made to overhaul lead pipes in the wake of crises like the contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, that put Americans’ health at risk.

Workers with East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) install a new water pipe on April 22, 2021 … [+] in Oakland, California.

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Key Facts

The proposal, which was issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency, would require the removal of approximately nine million pipes across the country, calling for them to be replaced within the next 10 years.

The policy would lower the allowable amount of lead in drinking water from 15 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion, which the New York Times notes would be “the strictest limits on lead in drinking water” in 30 years, following the 1991 Safe Drinking Water Act.

The overhaul is projected to cost between $20 and $30 billion over 10 years, according to the Times—$15 billion will come from the federal government through its 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and utility companies and customers are expected to pay the rest.

Utilities will be required to replace their lead pipes at a rate of 10% each year and track their inventory of the pipes, though the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday some cities, including Chicago, may be given additional time, as the policy allows for some water systems to defer their deadlines.

Companies will be forced to provide water filters to customers if at least 10 parts per billion of lead are found in 90% of samples taken within three rounds of testing, and the method for how water samples are tested will be updated.

What To Watch For

The EPA’s proposal for the lead pipe overhaul will be published in the Federal Register and public comments will be accepted for 60 days, with CNN noting a public hearing will be held in mid-January. It’s still possible further changes could be made before it’s formally adopted by the agency.

Big Number

$9.8 billion. That’s the minimum amount per year the EPA estimates the lead pipe proposal will generate in economic benefits, the Times reports, potentially reaching up to $34.8 billion annually. That estimate is based on the likelihood that replacing lead pipes will result in fewer health issues and cognitive impairments, particularly among children.

Contra

While the Biden administration’s proposal marks “the strongest lead rule that the nation has ever seen,” EPA assistant administrator for water Radhika Fox told the Times, some environmental advocates believe it does not go far enough. The Times notes that many public health advocates believe the legal limit for lead in drinking water should have been lowered further to between zero and five parts per billion, as scientists say there is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for children. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) also said Thursday it took issue with water companies not being required to pay for lead pipe lines to be replaced, arguing that “potentially [leaves] significant cost burdens on individual households,” along with issues like a lack of sufficient enforcement actions for lead violations and a lack of rules for water testing in schools and daycare centers.

Key Background

A 2021 analysis by the NRDC found 56% of Americans (186 million people) drank water from drinking systems containing more than one part per billion of lead between 2018 and 2020, with seven million people served by drinking systems that exceeded 15 parts per billion. Though water can be transported through lead pipes and meet federal standards though tactics like adding chemicals to water that form a protective coating in lead pipes, lead in drinking water has led to a series of high-profile crises in which the contaminant has impacted local water supplies. Lead contamination in such cities as Washington, D.C., Newark, New Jersey, and Flint, Michigan, grabbed national headlines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes slightly more than half of households in Flint (51%) reported “the physical health of at least one member had worsened due to Flint water crisis.” The EPA’s new proposal comes after President Joe Biden has long promised his administration would focus its efforts on replacing lead pipes and floated the 10-year timeline, including by releasing an action plan for lead pipes and paint in December 2021 after allocating funding to it in the infrastructure law and mentioning the issue during his February State of the Union address.