Item 4H- Attachment CPage 1 of 3
Stronger Protections from Lead in Drinking Water:
Next Steps for the Lead and Copper Rule
The science on lead has been settled for decades. There is no safe level of lead exposure. In drinking
water, the primary source of lead is from pipes, which can present a risk to the health of children and
adults. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to using every tool available—
statutory authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act, technical assistance, funding for lead service
line removal, and more—to protect all Americans from lead in drinking water. The agency will
collaboratively work with local, state, and federal partners to make rapid progress on President Biden’s
vision to remove 100% of lead service lines, with a focus on prioritizing communities that are
disproportionately impacted by lead contamination .
On December 16, 2021, EPA announced next steps to strengthen the regulatory framework on lead in
drinking water. Following the agency’s review of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) under
Executive Order 13990, EPA has concluded that there are significant opportunities to improve
the rule to support the overarching goal of proactively removing lead service lines and more equitably
protecting public health. A critical component of EPA’s review of the LCRR was robust public
engagement. The agency hosted a series of engagements from April to August of 2021 to obtain public
input. The engagement meetings included two days of public listening sessions, 10 community
roundtables, a Tribal roundtable, a national stakeholder association roundtable, a national co-regulator
meeting, and a meeting with organizations representing elected officials.
In a Federal Register Notice, EPA announced that the LCRR will go into effect to support near -
term development of actions to reduce lead in drinking water. At the same time, EPA will develop a
new proposed rulemaking to strengthen key elements of the rule. The agency anticipates finalizing
the forthcoming Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) prior to October 16, 2024, the initial
compliance date in the LCRR.
Implementation of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
The agency has determined that there are advancements in the LCRR. Specifically, lead service line
inventories that will be developed under the LCRR are necessary to achieve 100% removal of lead
service lines. EPA intends to maintain the requirements for information to be submitted in the
initial lead service line inventory by the current October 16, 2024 compliance date. Maintaining this
compliance deadline ensures water systems will make continued progress to identify lead service lines,
which is integral to lead reduction efforts.
To assist local water systems, state primacy agencies, and other partners, EPA is committed to issuing
new guidance for the LCRR. EPA will issue guidance on developing lead service line inventories,
December 2021
Page 2 of 3
including best practices, case studies, and templates. EPA is also updating the Safe Drinking Water
Information System to support state and Tribal data management needs for inventories.
New Rulemaking Action: Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
EPA intends to immediately begin to develop a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation:
Lead and Copper Rule Improvements to address key issues and opportunities identified in our review.
EPA intends to promulgate the LCRI prior to October 16, 2024.
Focus Areas for the Proposed Rulemaking
• Replacing all Lead Service Lines. Replacing all lead service lines is an important public
health goal. EPA intends to propose requirements that, along with other actions, would replace
all lead service lines as quickly as feasible. EPA’s proposal will fully consider the agency’s
statutory authority and required analyses, including an economic analysis.
• Compliance Tap Sampling. EPA intends to assess data to consider opportunities to strengthen
compliance tap sampling requirements. Robust tap sampling methods are essential to
identifying locations with elevated lead, whether the source of the lead is a lead service line or
leaded plumbing materials within a residence.
• Action and Trigger Levels. For the proposed rule, the agency plans to explore options to reduce
the complexity and confusion associated with these levels with a focus on reducing health risks
in more communities. The agency will also evaluate whether the trigger level requirements of
the LCRR are still necessary with a proactive lead service line replacement and more protective
action level.
• Prioritizing Historically Underserved Communities. EPA intends to explore how to replace lead
service lines in a manner that prioritizes underserved communities. EPA will evaluate options to
prioritize the removal of lead service lines in communities disproportionately impacted by lead
in drinking water. The goal of these potential lead service line replacement regulatory
improvements—coupled with non-regulatory actions—is to more equitable protect public
health.
Additional Actions to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water
EPA concluded that there are additional actions outside of the SDWA regulatory framework for the
Lead and Copper Rule that can further reduce lead in drinking water. They include:
• Additional Infrastructure Funds. EPA announced that it will allocate $2.9 billion in Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law funding to states, Tribes, and territories to remove lead service lines. This
2022 allocation is the first of five allotments that will provide $15 billion in dedicated funding
for lead serve line replacements. In addition to the dedicated investment in lead service lines,
the Law provides an additional $11.7 billion in general funding through the DWSRF, which can
also be utilized for lead removal projects.
• Equity in the Distribution of Funds. EPA will seek opportunities to provide technical assistance
to small and disadvantaged communities, promote awareness of the availability of
December 2021
Page 3 of 3
these funding programs to address lead in drinking water and highlight case studies from
communities that have successfully addressed concerns regarding the use of public funds for
private-side lead service line replacements. Two EPA programs central to EPA’s goal to
accelerate lead service line replacements are pilot programs under the Justice 40 Initiative:
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for
the Nation Act (WIIN) Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Grant. EPA is engaging with
stakeholders to explore opportunities to maximize the benefits of these programs in
disadvantaged communities, including their specific application to lead service line replacement
projects.
• Federal Collaboration to Address School and Child-Care Lead in Drinking Water. EPA will
explore collaborations with other federal agencies to remediate lead in drinking water in
schools and child-care facilities, with a particular focus on communities at risk of multiple forms
of lead exposure.
• Targeted Technical Assistance to Communities with High Drinking Water Lead Levels. EPA will
collaborate with states and Tribes that have primary enforcement responsibility for public
water systems to provide oversight as well as assistance to communities experiencing high
levels of lead in their drinking water.
• Improving Risk Communication Tools. EPA intends to develop guidance and templates to
assist states, Tribes, and water systems in the communication of lead risk to households and
communities.
• Discourage Partial Lead Service Line Replacements and Encourage Full Replacements. EPA will
provide training, guidance, and tools on developing lead service line replacement programs,
including how to ensure equitable implementation of removal projects. EPA will provide
guidance on available methods for replacing full lead service lines as safely and efficiently as
possible.
December 2021