A proposal released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency aims to eliminate all lead drinking water pipes nationwide within a decade. Improvements to lead and copper regulations would require utilities to replace lead service lines within 10 years, regardless of lead levels recorded in water samples. The proposal aims to prevent public health crises related to contaminated drinking water like what happened in 2014 in Flint, Michigan from recurring in the future. Contaminated drinking water disproportionately affects poor communities and communities of color. As such, access to drinking water remains a cornerstone of public health and environmental justice.
The regulation will be the strictest in more than three decades, the Associated Press reported. “A game-changer for children and communities, EPA’s proposed new lead and copper rule will help ensure that we never again see the preventable tragedy of a city or a child poisoned by their pipes,” said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician in Flint and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. EPA said the proposal is an important step toward President Joe Biden’s goal of eliminating all lead water pipes in the country and is part of an effort to broader government efforts to limit exposure to lead, which can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, among other health consequences.
The regulation would require water systems to replace at least 10% of lead water pipes each year it also aims to improve sampling procedures and reduce lead activity levels in drinking water from 15 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms per liter. Established standards require water systems to take action if 10% of samples show lead levels above 15 micrograms per liter. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “believe that everyone should be able to turn on the faucet and know that the glass of water they pour is safe to drink,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Water Quality. environment. a statement, adding that the EPA’s proposal represents a “big step forward in protecting children and families from lead. EPA will accept public comments for 60 days and hold an online public hearing on January 16. She then aims to complete a final version of the rule by the fall next year.