A decade after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised alarms about the continuing dangers of lead in tap water, President Joe Biden is setting a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an aggressive approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans.
Biden is expected to announce the final Environmental Protection Agency rule Tuesday in the swing state of Wisconsin during the final month of a tight presidential campaign. The announcement highlights an issue â safe drinking water â that Kamala Harris has prioritized as vice president and during her presidential campaign. The new rule supplants a looser standard set by former President Donald Trumpâs administration that did not include a universal requirement to replace lead pipes.
Biden and Harris believe itâs âa moral imperativeâ to ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water, EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters Monday. âWe know that over 9 million legacy lead pipes continue to deliver water to homes across our country. But the science has been clear for decades: There is no safe level of lead in our drinking water.ââ
Weâre actually in full swing replacing lead lines already. The BIL funding is paying for it and thereâs an imminent deadline to have a lead inventory (Oct 16)
