Following Schneider Advocacy, Biden Administration Announces Initiative to Replace Lead Service Lines with Promising Principles
WASHINGTON – Following Rep. Brad Schneider’s (IL-10) advocacy, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the new “Lead Service Line Replacement Accelerators” – an initiative to guide efficient and equitable implementation of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding to replace lead pipes. The initiative is consistent with the issues raised by Rep. Schneider and will provide targeted technical assistance services to help underserved communities access IIJA funds to replace lead pipes in four pilot states. Lead pipes pose dangerous health risks for children and families, and the IIJA included a historic $15 billion in funding to address this public health challenge.
The new guidance offers promise for future funding for Illinois. In August 2022, Schneider led 50 colleagues in a bipartisan letter to EPA urging the agency to allocate IIJA funding for lead service line replacement (LSLR) to states based on LSLR need rather than a broader formula, like those the EPA has used in the past, which would have unjustifiably diverted funds away from states with the greatest need like Illinois. In December, he led a follow-up bipartisan letter to EPA with 34 colleagues encouraging EPA to ensure allocation of the remaining LSLR funds is informed by the most comprehensive, reliable data available to yield the greatest potential benefit in delivering lead-free water to Americans. The EPA guidance released Friday follows both of these important principles for the four pilot states.
“We must protect our communities from the dangers of lead in our drinking water, and I commend the Administration’s continued efforts toward its goal for 100% lead pipe removal and replacement,” said Congressman Brad Schneider. “Illinois bears the greatest lead service line burden and deserves to be a pilot state. That it has not been included is disappointing. However, I appreciate the Administration listening to Congress’s bipartisan advocacy—aiming to replace lead service lines in a fairer way – and I am hopeful that their new methods will benefit Illinois down the road. I look forward to working with the Administration to try to implement these principles nationwide.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, alongside state and local leaders including Zion Mayor McKinney, announced the new initiative at the White House.
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