05/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/02/2024 14:08
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Investing in America Agenda, EPA announces the latest round of funding toward President Biden's commitment to replace every lead pipe in the nation, protecting public health and helping to deliver safe drinking
May 2, 2024
"Every single person living in Guam deserves access to clean, safe drinking water and a guarantee that they and their loved ones will be protected from lead contamination," said Martha Guzman, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator. "Thanks to President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is investing an unprecedented amount of funding to replace these harmful lead service lines, with communities at the greatest risk of lead poisoning prioritized."
"The Guam Waterworks Authority is thankful for EPA's partnership and technical and financial support in assuring that our customers will not be affected by lead service lines," said Miguel Bordallo, General Manager of the Guam Waterworks Authority.
President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Lawinvests $15 billion to identify and replace lead service lines. The law mandates that 49% of funds provided through the DWSRF General Supplemental Funding and DWSRF Lead Service Line Replacement Funding must be provided as grants and forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities, a crucial investment for communities that have been underinvested in for too long. EPA projects a national total of 9 million lead service lines across the country, based on data collected from the updated 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment. The funding announced today will be explicitly provided for lead service line identification and replacement. It will help every state and territory fund projects to remove lead pipes and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water.
The Lead Service Line-specific formula used to allot these funds allows states to receive financial assistance commensurate with their need as soon as possible, furthering public health protection nationwide. The formula and allotments are based on need - meaning that states with more projected lead service lines receive proportionally more funding.
Alongside the funding announced today, EPA is also releasing a new memorandumthat clarifies how states can use this and other funding to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water most effectively. Additionally, EPA has developed new outreach documentsto help water systems educate their customers on drinking water issues, health impacts of lead exposure, service line ownership, and how customers can support identifying potential lead service lines in their homes.
To view stories about how the unpreceded investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are transforming communities across the country, visit EPA's Investing in America's Water Infrastructure Story Map. To read about some projects underway, see EPA's recently released Quarterly Report on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funded Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF projectsand explore the State Revolving Funds Public Portal.
Today's allotments are based on EPA's updated 7th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment (DWINSA), which includes an assessment of newly submitted information. This is the best available data collected and assessed on service line materials in the United States. Later this summer, EPA will release an addendum to the 7th DWINSA Report to Congress, including the updated lead service line projections. EPA anticipates initiating data collection, consisting of information on lead service lines, for the 8th DWINSA in 2025.
For more information, including state-by-state allotment of 2024 funding and a breakdown of EPA's lead Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, please visit EPA's Drinking Water website.
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