Up to 10 million American households connect to water through lead pipes and service lines that could expose them to brain damage and other complications.
Today, the White House announced that the Biden-Harris administration wants to take that number down to zero with the Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.
“All Americans deserve to drink clean water, breathe clean air, and live in healthy homes,” said the White House in a statement. “However, lead in drinking water pipes, faucets, paint, and walls threatens the health and well-being of American families and children across the country.”
Apart from the lead connections to homes an estimated 400,000 schools have lead connections that could expose children to the heavy metal chemical element. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and experts, there is no safe amount of lead exposure for children.
Another 24 million housing units in the U.S. are estimated to have a significant amount of lead-based paint.
“Because of inequitable infrastructure development and disinvestment, low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to these risks,” said the White House. “President Biden and Vice President Harris believe this is unacceptable and must change.”
According to the administration, the new plan is “a historic effort of unprecedented ambition,” to rid the nation of the hazardous material in settings where it could cause harm. Included in the plan are 15 action items.
These include: collaboration with local, state, and federal partners over the next decade; an allocation of $3 billion from the EPA; a new regulatory process from the agency; a green light to use some of the $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund provided in the American Rescue Plan for lead remediation; establishment of regional assistance hubs; Department of Housing and Urban Development grants; improvements to testing through the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program; commitment to remediation in federally-assisted housing and Tribal housing; and a new cabinet-level partnership for school lead remediation.
An estimate for replacing all lead pipes in the nation from the American Water Works Association, which represents water suppliers, came out to more than $60 billion, according to NBC News.
While Biden initially sought $45 billion from Congress for the initiative, only $15 billion for lead pipes was approved as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill he signed into law last month. Another $15 billion for pipes and paint could come from the Build Back Better Act, which was stalled in the Senate as of Thursday.
In addition to the White House plans for lead remediation, the EPA was expected to announce it will put forth new, stronger regulations on drinking water as well as lead and copper pipes on Thursday, senior administration officials said.
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