Biden will use $3billion and an initiative started under Trump to remove every lead pipe across the US and reduce paint that harms children
President Biden is moving forward with a $3 billion initiative twice delayed under President Trump to replace lead pipes and paint across the U.S.
The funding will come from the recently-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, and the Biden administration is calling on states to prioritize 'underserved communities.'
At the same time as it allows the Trump rule to take effect, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin to develop new regulations for lead pipes and paint, to be finalized by 2024. The stricter standards would compel water companies to dig up and replace lead lines for drinking water.
The EPA estimates there are still 10 million lead pipes that carry drinking water to homes. Biden campaigned on replacing the outdated pipes as part of his plan to update the nation's aging infrastructure.
The new plan comes nearly eight years after the start of the Flint water crisis.
'Over the past year, I have visited with and heard from communities in Chicago, Flint, Jackson, and many other areas that are impacted by lead in drinking water,' said EPA administrator Michael Regan in a statement. 'These conversations have underscored the need to proactively remove lead service lines, especially in low-income communities.'
The Trump-era rule included a first-ever requirement for testing water sources in schools and child-care settings and notifying residents within 24 hours if testing shows unsafe lead levels. However, the rule developed under Trump did not mandate the removal of the nation's millions of lead pipes.
Biden officials said they were allowing the Trump-era rule to take effect while developing a new one because it was better than the 1991 'Lead and Copper Rule,' but did not go far enough to tackle the problem of lead pipes.
President Biden is moving forward with a $3 billion initiative twice delayed under President Trump to replace lead pipes and paint across the U.S.
A piece of old lead pipe is seen in 2016 in Chicago
City workers unload a truck containing pallets of bottled water to distribute during a water filter distribution event on October 26, 2021 in Hamtramck, Michigan. The state Department of Health and Human Services has begun distributing water filters and bottled water to residents due to elevated levels of lead found in the drinking water due to old and un-maintained water pipes in the city
The EPA and Labor Department are expected to create regional technical assistance hubs to help states speed up the process and the Housing and Urban Development Department will distribute funds to remove lead paint from low-income communities.
The Biden team is selling the new plan as not only a public health measure but a way to spur new plumbing and pipe-fitting jobs. Vice President Kamala Harris will formally announce the rule at a speech at the AFL-CIO in Washington, DC on Thursday.
The bipartisan infrastructure law devoted a total of $15 billion to lead pipe removal and another $11 billion in general drinking water funding.
The White House estimates that $45 billion is needed to dig up every lead pipe in the country.
For adults, lead exposure can cause cardiovascular issues, reproductive issues and decreased kidney function. For children, it can cause behavior and learning problems, slowed growth, lower IQ or anemia, according to the EPA.
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