EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $1 Million to Recruit and Train Pennsylvania Workers for Community Revitalization and Cleanup Projects as Part of Investing in America Agenda

Latest funding for EPA’s Brownfield Job Training Grants is supported by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and will boost workforce training in underserved and overburdened communities

Contact Information:
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (Dec. 8, 2023) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of North Side Industrial Development Company and the Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County to receive a total of $1 Million for environmental job training programs as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The grants through EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program will help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites across the Commonwealth.

• North Side Industrial Development Company (NSIDC) has been selected to receive $500,000 to train approximately 155 students from within the City of Pittsburgh and place at least 116 in environmental jobs upon completion of the program. The training program includes 108 hours of instruction including 40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA, green infrastructure, asbestos, and fieldwork training.

• Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County has been selected to receive $500,000 to train at least 57 students from the Carlisle area and provide them with 203 hours of instruction and training. The curriculum will span OSHA, asbestos, confined space entry, site assessments, and field work.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is having a powerful, real-world impact on the ground, creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has supercharged our Brownfields program, enabling EPA to invest in the next generation of environmental workers to take on the much-needed work of cleaning up legacy pollution in communities across America.”

“This grant funding is an investment in our future,” said EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “These are real dollars that will be used to benefit not only the job trainees themselves, but the environment as a whole.”

“I applaud the Biden Administration’s one-million-dollar investment in environmental job training programs in Pennsylvania,” said Senator John Fetterman. “These grants will go towards good-paying jobs that will mitigate the effects of pollution and strengthen the environment and economies of Pittsburgh and Carlisle. Our workers, our commonwealth, and our planet are always worthwhile investments.”

"I’m so proud to announce this $500,000 grant for the North Side Industrial Development Company to boost job training in our area! We're talking about real skills here and a path to federal certifications, opening doors to better opportunities for the folks in our area. We’re focusing on uplifting our own, especially those in lower-income, underserved areas like East Hills, Homewood, and the Hill District,” said U.S. Representative Summer Lee. “This is about building a stronger, more resilient community, where education and job opportunities are not just dreams, but realities for everyone no matter where you live or how you grew up.”

"This is great news! We are really looking forward to being a recipient of these EPA Workforce Training funds. These funds are so important to our partner organizations, the diverse businesses, and workers so that they can get the necessary training for the future job opportunities in the Pittsburgh region,” said Juan Garrett, Executive Director, North Side Industrial Development Company.

“The Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities are invested in helping our communities, clients and the whole of Cumberland County find ample employment in fields that offer competitive wages and growth opportunities.  We are very grateful to be a partner with the Employment Skills Center in Carlisle, PA.  They are a true asset and have driven this grant forward for our County. Thank you so much to the EPA and our federal representation for ensuring a bright future for careers within the environmental mitigation field!” – Mary Kuna, Executive Director, Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County

These grants will provide funding to organizations that are working to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place. Individuals completing a job training program funded by EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment and many are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in the areas that are affected by environmental justice issues.

Job training and workforce development are an important part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities.  All of the FY24 Brownfields Job Training Program applications selected have proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool, delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits of certain government investments to underserved and overburdened communities. 

Under the Brownfields Jobs Training Program, individuals typically graduate with a variety of certifications that improve their marketability and help ensure that employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term environmental careers. This includes certifications in: 

• Lead and asbestos abatement, 
• Hazardous waste operations and emergency response, 
• Mold remediation, 
• Environmental sampling and analysis, and 
• Other environmental health and safety training 

For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training Grant recipients, including past Grant recipients, please visit EPA’s Grant Factsheet Tool.

Background

President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan congressional action have delivered the single-largest investment ever made in U.S. brownfields infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program, which is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by the legacy pollution at brownfield sites. Today’s funding for Brownfields Jobs Training grants comes from this historic investment, which is allowing more communities, states, and Tribes to access larger grants to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs to support job creation and community revitalization at brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities.

Since 1998, EPA has announced 414 grants totaling over $100.5 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. With these grants, more than 21,500 individuals have completed training and over 16,370 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. The average starting wage for these individuals is over $15 an hour.  

For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s Brownfields webpage.

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 EPA Press Office:

North Denver waste solvent facility among several in proposed national settlement resolving alleged hazardous waste violations

EPA, DOJ settlement with Heritage-Crystal Clean resolves Resource Conservation and Recovery Act claims, secures safe management of solvents

Contact: Richard Mylott, mylott.richard@epa.gov

DENVER (December 7, 2023) -- Today, EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with Heritage-Crystal Clean, LLC (HCC) to resolve pending claims of the United States on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and the State of Indiana for violations of requirements governing management of hazardous waste, as well as a violation of used oil management requirements, at current or former HCC facilities located in Indianapolis, Indiana; Shreveport, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia; Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania; and Denver, Colorado.   

Under the settlement, HCC commits to pay civil penalties totaling $1,162,500 and to implement various measures to ensure that HCC facilities will not treat, store or dispose of parts-washing solvents that qualify as hazardous waste unless and until HCC receives a hazardous waste permit authorizing it to manage hazardous waste.  Plaintiffs estimate that the compliance measures required under the settlement will cost at least $1,628,502.  

“This settlement reflects our commitment to protecting communities, including North Denver, from the potential risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals,” said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA Region 8’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “HCC’s compliance actions will ensure the safe handling of solvents and reduce potential harm to people and the environment.” 

 “While federal law encourages responsible recycling of hazardous waste, recyclers must still comply with legal requirements designed to ensure the health and safety of our communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This settlement reflects our commitment to ensuring that hazardous waste recycling operations are conducted in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and its regulations.” 

In January 2022, a twenty-one-count complaint was filed against HCC in federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and applicable state law. The complaint states that in the course of providing parts washing services to customers throughout the United States, HCC accepted some used solvent that qualified as hazardous waste, but HCC did not transport and manage those solvents in accordance with applicable hazardous waste management requirements.   

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Denver facility 

The proposed settlement includes the resolution of alleged violations and remedies associated with the Denver Heritage Crystal Clean (HCC) facility at 5221 Monroe Street, located in the North Denver-Commerce City area, a historically overburdened neighborhood. HCC delivers solvent products to area customers from this facility which are used for parts washing. HCC’s Denver facility then brings used solvent from its customers back to the facility for transfer to other HCC facilities for reclamation. The primary solvent (142 Mineral Spirits) managed at the facility is an organic solvent with a claimed flash point of 142 degrees. An EPA inspection found that containers with used 142 Mineral Spirits on site exceeded the regulatory limit for tetrachloroethylene, making the solvent a characteristic hazardous waste subject to specific RCRA requirements.  

EPA has determined the Denver HCC facility is not handling hazardous spent 142 Mineral Spirits solvent according to RCRA requirements. Specifically, EPA found that HCC transported hazardous spent 142 Mineral Spirits solvent without documentation required by RCRA and stored the hazardous waste solvent at the Denver facility without first obtaining a permit. The settlement includes a sampling program to ensure hazardous wastes are properly identified and requires HCC to promptly remove any 142 solvent drums and consolidation containers with hazardous waste characteristics. The facility will manage such wastes in accordance with applicable hazardous waste requirements in the future.    

National Settlement Details 

The EPA/DOJ complaint states that HCC (1) transported hazardous waste without required hazardous waste manifests, (2) stored hazardous waste at various HCC facilities without required permits, (3) failed to make required hazardous waste determinations after mixing used solvents from different parts washing customers, (4) failed to comply with certain requirements for reducing air emissions from certain hazardous waste tanks and equipment, and (5) failed to maintain adequate secondary containment for certain hazardous waste tanks. The proposed settlement includes numerous other provisions specific to each facility, as well as provisions that require HCC to distribute educational materials to parts-washing customers in specified circumstances, and provisions for HCC to retain a third party to conduct audits at designated HCC facilities to ensure future compliance.  

The five HCC facilities included in this settlement are recognized by EPA to be located within communities with potential environmental justice concerns. Nearby communities will benefit from the improved controls and new work practices that will be implemented at HCC facilities as required by the consent decree. These new controls and practices will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to neighboring communities and reduce risk of exposure by ensuring lower volumes of hazardous wastes are managed at these facilities.  

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is subject to a 30-day federal public comment period and approval by the federal court.  The consent decree can be viewed on the Department of Justice consent decrees website.

For more information about this settlement, please visit Heritage-Crystal Clean, LLC RCRA Settlement Information Sheet. 

 EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Announces 14 Organizations to Receive Nearly $7 Million to Recruit and Train Workers for Community Revitalization and Cleanup Projects as Part of Investing in America Agenda

WASHINGTON (Dec. 8, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 14 organizations to receive approximately $7 million in grants for environmental job training programs across the country, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The grants through EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program will help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites across the country. This second wave of funding will build on the more than $14 million in Brownfields Job Training Grants the agency funded last year. 

 

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is having a powerful, real-world impact on the ground, creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has supercharged our Brownfields program, enabling EPA to invest in the next generation of environmental workers to take on the much-needed work of cleaning up legacy pollution in communities across America.”

 

These grants, of up to $500,000 each, will provide funding to organizations that are working to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place. Awardees include collaborative partnerships of local workforce development boards, community colleges, labor unions, local governments, and more.  

 

Individuals completing a job training program funded by EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment and many are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in the areas that are affected by environmental justice issues. Many awardees will offer supportive services to participants, like childcare support, to reduce barriers to participation and retention in the program. 

 

High-quality job training and workforce development are an important part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. All of the FY24 Brownfields Job Training Program applications selected have proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool, delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits of certain government investments to underserved and overburdened communities.  

 

Under the Brownfields Job Training Program, individuals typically graduate with a variety of certifications that improve their marketability and help ensure that employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term and high-quality environmental careers. This includes certifications in: 

 

• Lead and asbestos abatement, 

• Hazardous waste operations and emergency response, 

• Mold remediation, 

• Environmental sampling and analysis, and 

• Other environmental health and safety training 

 

Today’s selected grant recipients are: 

 

• Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM

• *Cornerstones of Care, Kansas City, MO

• The Research Foundation of CUNY obo the City College of New York, Harlem, NY

• Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps, Racine, WI

• Kern County Builders Exchange, Kern, CA 

• Redevelopment Authority of the County of Cumberland, PA

• The City of Pittsburg, CA 

• Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties, Utica, NY 

• The City of Texarkana, TX 

• *Groundwork Ohio River Valley, Cincinnati, OH 

• *Honeybee Strategies, East Baton Rouge, LA

• *Young Adult Development in Action, Inc., dba YouthBuild Louisville, Louisville, KY 

• *North Side Industrial Development Company, Pittsburgh, PA 

• *E3 Solutions, Inc., Selma, AL

 

*First-time Brownfields Job Training Program grant recipients.

 

For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training Grant recipients, including past Grant recipients, please visit EPA’S Grant Factsheet Tool. 

 

Background

President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan congressional action have delivered the single-largest investment ever made in U.S. brownfields infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program, which is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by the legacy pollution at brownfield sites. Today’s funding for Brownfields Job Training grants comes from this historic investment, which is allowing more communities, states, and Tribes to access larger grants to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs to support job creation and community revitalization at brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities. 

 

Since 1998, EPA has announced 414 grants totaling over $100.5 million through Brownfields Job Training Programs. With these grants, more than 21,500 individuals have completed training and over 16,370 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. The average starting wage for these individuals is over $15 an hour.   

 

For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s Brownfields webpage.

 EPA Press Release:

EPA Releases Revised Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the revised EPA Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes and the companion Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty or Similar Rights, reflecting the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthening Nation-to-Nation partnerships.

“From day one, President Biden committed to respecting Tribal sovereignty, honoring the federal trust responsibility, and engaging in regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with federally recognized Tribal governments,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “With the release of our revised consultation policy, we’re delivering on the President’s promise to Tribes and I’m looking forward to EPA’s continued engagements with Tribes under this strengthened policy.”

EPA has long been at the forefront of developing policy that ensures consideration of Tribal interests in making agency policy and managing environmental programs affecting Indian country. In 1984, EPA became one of the first federal agencies to develop a policy for interacting with Tribal governments, laying out how to consider Tribal interests in carrying out its programs to protect human health and the environment. In 2011, EPA was among the first federal agencies to issue a Tribal consultation policy and has since conducted more than 900 Tribal consultations. In 2016, EPA developed the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights, the first of its kind for any federal agency. Complementary to the consultation policy, EPA provides training to staff on working effectively with Tribal governments.  Successful implementation of EPA’s Consultation Policy is a top priority for the Agency.

The current revisions were initiated by President Biden’s January 26, 2021 Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships, which asked each federal agency to ensure regular and meaningful consultation with Tribal officials. EPA’s revisions incorporate standards developed by the White House and interagency workgroups to promote uniformity in the way the federal government conducts consultation with federally recognized Tribal governments. The finalized policy and guidance additionally reflect valuable input from Tribal officials and Tribal partnership groups. Key revisions include:

• Guiding principles addressing the consideration of Indigenous Knowledge and information regarding sacred sites;
• Additional specificity on consultation timing, notification, coordination, participants, and follow-up;
• A section titled “Consultation Process Review” providing a means to resolve Tribal concerns of the sufficiency, timing and agency compliance with consultation policy requirements; and
• Expanded scope of the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights to include additional instruments of federal law and to apply to national EPA actions.

Learn more about the EPA Consultation Policy.

Contact Information
U.S. EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

 EPA Press Office:

EPA Update on Sequential Sampling Study, Next Steps to Address Lead in Drinking Water in St. Croix

NEW YORK (December 7, 2023) As part of its continuing partnership with the U.S. Virgin Islands government to address lead identified in the water distribution system of St. Croix, today EPA is announcing that it has concluded its sequential sampling study and made a series of preliminary recommendations to its partners. Initial samples taken in September by EPA, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR), the University of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) at water distribution meters showed alarming levels of lead, but subsequent sampling data analyzed by EPA experts indicate the levels of lead at household taps are far lower than those found at the distribution meters. EPA has developed a preliminary list of recommended actions that the U.S. Virgin Islands government should take, including educating residents on steps they themselves can take at home to reduce exposure to lead, as well as improving the water system’s corrosion control treatment and replacing components that contain lead in the distribution system. A final report on the sequential sampling study will be available by mid-December.

Of the 119 samples collected for the sequential sampling study at the 11 homes, three samples showed levels above the EPA’s 15 parts per billion (ppb) Lead Action Level. Two of those samples were from the first draw closest to the tap (28.8 ppb; 18.4 ppb); the third was from water closer to the meter (23.2 ppb).  The two first-draw results, closest to the tap, indicate the lead is likely stemming from the local plumbing within the faucet or the aerator; the third result, closer to the distribution meter, indicates the lead is likely stemming from the lead plumbing components in and around the distribution meter. The home with elevated lead closer to the distribution meter had a stagnation time of four days, versus the other homes with a six-hour stagnation, which may account for the lead levels in that sample.

“EPA takes seriously any instance of lead or potential for lead in drinking water, and I commend the U.S. Virgin Islands government and WAPA for taking immediate action to advise people not to consume the water, to collect more samples, begin replacing components in the system and develop a voucher program,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “What we initially saw from samples collected in September showed very high levels of lead. While those samples were not from a part of the water system that is normally sampled, EPA and the Virgin Islands government had a responsibility to take decisive action and investigate the situation further.”

Garcia added, “The levels of lead we have been seeing in subsequent sampling, including our detailed sequential sampling study, are much lower than those initial samples. But they do show some lead. This confirms the need to ensure that proper steps are being taken by the water provider and by consumers to protect people and reduce the potential exposure to lead.”

As part of its work with the USVI government to better understand the contents of the red and brown water seen coming out of household taps on St. Croix, EPA analyzed samples taken at distribution meters to determine their metal content. These results showed high levels of lead and copper, prompting immediate action from both EPA and the U.S. Virgin Islands government.

After examining the results of a November sequential sampling study and considering data generated from sampling since September, EPA is working closely with the Virgin Islands government to lay a path to lift the recommendation that people on St. Croix not consume WAPA water from the distribution system.

“EPA has been working with the U.S. Virgin Islands from the very beginning to narrow down our understanding of what the sources of the high levels of lead were, and we feel we have sufficient information to guide the next steps,” Regional Administrator Garcia added.

Levels of lead that were found at the private home taps during EPA’s sampling study are consistent with levels seen in other communities across the country. While no level of lead is safe, there are practical steps that people can take to reduce their exposure to lead from their household water. These include flushing their pipes before consuming water, regularly cleaning their aerators (faucet screen) to remove sediment and debris, and properly using and maintaining a water filter certified to remove lead.

Before residents begin to consume water from the WAPA distribution system again, EPA is requesting that USVI regulatory agencies and WAPA develop and implement a comprehensive plan to educate the public about steps they can take to reduce their exposure to lead in drinking water. Implementation of this plan will help reduce the risk of lead in the drinking water and allow residents to resume consumption of the water if they follow guidelines provided in the educational campaign.

EPA also recommends that WAPA address the lead from the distribution system, including optimizing corrosion control on St. Croix and replacing components containing lead in the distribution system. The U.S. Virgin Islands is already beginning to undertake EPA’s recommendations.

The local and subsequent federal emergency declarations are focused on lead. While the red/brown discoloration issues with the water may not indicate an immediate health threat, EPA recognizes that these issues are still serious and need attention. Some of the measures being undertaken to reduce lead both by consumers and by the system may also help the red and brown discoloration and EPA will continue to consult with the U.S Virgin Islands to address that problem.

EPA will hold a hybrid public meeting to update the public and will post the details of this meeting on its website. For more information about EPA’s work regarding U.S. Virgin Islands drinking water and for further updates, please  visit our U.S. Virgin Islands drinking water website.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter now known as X, and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

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For further information: Contact: Carlos Vega, (646) 988-2996, vega.carlos@epa.gov

 EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration announces availability of $30.7 million in grants to support water systems in small and rural communities

Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of up to $30.7 million in grant funding for technical assistance and training to support small drinking water and wastewater systems, including those in rural communities. This grant provides funding to organizations that work side-by-side with water systems by giving them the necessary tools and training to ensure communities have safe drinking water and effective wastewater treatment systems.

“Many small drinking water systems face challenges when working to provide reliable and safe drinking water to their communities,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Funding to support upgrading water infrastructure is central to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. With this grant funding, the EPA is building on our technical assistance efforts by providing another resource for disadvantaged and often rural communities to gain access to their fair share of federal investment through training and technical assistance.”

Small water systems often face unique financial and operational challenges, including aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, increasing costs and declining rate bases. Many small systems also serve disadvantaged communities with environmental justice concerns. With this action, EPA is investing in small and underserved communities to ensure safe drinking water and wastewater services are provided to those that are most in need.

This grant will also help expand on the agency’s water technical assistance (WaterTA) commitment, which aims to provide a range of assistance to help communities identify solutions for water challenges, from capacity building to helping navigate the federal funding application process and strategically investing in reliable infrastructure solutions.

EPA is seeking applications to fund grant projects that will benefit small and rural communities. Eligible applicants for this competitive agreement are nonprofit organizations, nonprofit private universities and colleges and public institutions of higher education. The application period for these competitive grants is now open.

Questions about applying for EPA funding for training and technical assistance must be received by January 18, 2024, and applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 2, 2024. EPA expects to award these cooperative agreements by summer of 2024 and encourages all eligible organizations who have an interest in these projects to apply.

This grant will be competed through a Request for Application process. The funding opportunity will remain open for 60 days on Grants.gov. For more information on the grant visit EPA’s website on Training and Technical Assistance for Small Systems Funding.

Background

Since 2012, the Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Water Quality and Enable Small PWSs to Provide Safe Drinking Water grant program has provided over $170 million in funding to technical assistance and training providers. EPA expects to award three to nine cooperative agreements totaling up to $30.7 million in federal funds. The purpose of the agreements is to provide training and technical assistance to:

1. Small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA);
2. Small public water systems on a wide range of managerial and/or financial topics to achieve and maintain compliance with the SDWA;
3. Small publicly-owned wastewater systems, communities served by onsite-decentralized wastewater systems to help improve water quality; or
4. Private well owners to help improve water quality.

EPA's free WaterTA services supports communities in states, Tribes and territories with developing solutions to localized water challenges. Learn more about WaterTA services visit EPA’s Water Technical Assistance website.

 EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration proposes to strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule to protect all communities in America from lead in drinking water

EPA proposal would accelerate progress toward achieving President Biden’s goal of removing 100% of lead pipes

Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

 

WASHINGTON (Nov. 30, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years. EPA is also proposing improvements to protect public health, such as lowering the lead action level and improving sampling protocols utilized by water systems. Today’s proposed action significantly advances President Biden’s commitment to remove every lead service line in America to protect children and vulnerable populations from the negative impacts of lead in drinking water, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities.

The Biden-Harris Administration is using every tool available to help communities and water systems Get the Lead Out—including investing a historic $15 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace lead service lines, providing technical assistance to communities and supporting the development of a national inventory of lead service lines. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements are central to the whole-of-government approach detailed in the Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.

“Lead in drinking water is a generational public health issue, and EPA’s proposal will accelerate progress towards President Biden’s goal of replacing every lead pipe across America once and for all,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “With collaboration and the focused actions proposed today, EPA is delivering on our charge to protect all Americans, especially communities of color, that are disproportionately harmed by lead in drinking water systems.”

“EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper rule is grounded in the best available science and successful practices utilized by drinking water systems to protect children and adults from lead in drinking water,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Cities like Newark, New Jersey, Benton Harbor, Michigan and Green Bay, Wisconsin, have all successfully gotten the lead out of their water systems. Our proposed rule applies the lessons learned to scale these successes to every corner of the country.”

The science is clear: there is no safe level of lead exposure. In children, it can severely harm mental and physical development—slowing down learning and damaging the brain. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function and cancer.

The proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements are a major advancement in protecting children and adults from these significant, and irreversible, health effects from lead in drinking water. Key provisions in the proposal include:

• Achieving 100% Lead Pipe Replacement within 10 years.
• Locating legacy lead pipes.
• Improving tap sampling.
• Lowering the Lead Action Level.
• Strengthening protections to reduce exposure.

The proposal would also require water systems to communicate more frequently and proactively with consumers about lead service lines and the system’s plans for replacing the lines.

“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that everyone should be able to turn on the tap and know that the glass of water they pour is safe to drink,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory. “Today’s announcement from EPA represents a major advancement in protecting children and families from lead and builds on our actions across the government to help achieve President Biden and Vice President Harris’s vision of removing all lead pipes across the country.”

“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that no family, no child, no American should have to worry about lead exposure – from the water they drink or air they breathe,” said Assistant to the President and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. “That’s why the President and Vice President have made replacing every lead pipe in America a centerpiece of their agenda, mobilizing tens of billions of dollars of investment and putting the full throw-weight of the federal government behind this push. EPA’s latest action bolsters this historic effort and implements a key element of the Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan–more than 10 agencies stepping forward with dozens of bold actions to take on and tackle this public health crisis and this staggering source of environmental injustice.”

“Here in Newark, New Jersey, our community persevered through a lead crisis and I’m proud of the work we did removing all 23,000 lead pipes in the city in under three years,” said Kareem Adeem, Director of the Newark Department of Water and Sewer Utilities. “EPA’s new proposed rule will prompt more communities across the country to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. This action is commendable and represents a positive step forward toward safeguarding the health and well-being of current and future generations.”

“A game changer for kids and communities, EPA's proposed new lead and copper rule would help ensure that we will never again see the preventable tragedy of a city, or a child, poisoned by their pipes,” said Mona Hanna-Attisha, Flint, Michigan pediatrician and Associate Dean for Public Health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. "I am thrilled that this rule centers our children and their potential - and listens to parents and pediatricians who have been advocating for this for decades.”

Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, EPA will accept comments for 60 days. The agency will also hold a virtual public hearing on January 16, 2024, at which time the public will be invited to provide EPA with verbal comments. For more information about the proposed rule, including a pre-publication version of the proposal, fact sheets and directions for submitting comment and registering for the public hearing, visit the proposed rule webpage.

 

Background

EPA is taking a comprehensive approach to getting the lead out, including:

• Regulatory Framework. EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements follow the science and EPA’s authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to strengthen regulatory requirements to address lead in drinking water.
• Funding. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $50 billion to support upgrades to the nation’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. This funding includes $15 billion dedicated to lead service line replacement and $11.7 billion of general Drinking Water State Revolving Funds that can also be used for lead service line replacement. To date, EPA has awarded over $3.5 billion in funding for lead service line replacement across the country.   
• Technical Assistance. EPA’s water technical assistance (WaterTA), including the recently launched Get the Lead Out Initiative, which will partner with 200 underserved communities nationwide, helps communities identify lead services lines, develop replacement plans and apply for funding to get the lead out.
• Practical Implementation Tools. Through training, tools, webinars and case studies, EPA provides support to drinking water systems to reduce lead exposure.