The Biden administration this week inched closer to finalizing a sweeping new EPA rule requiring the phase-out of toxic lead pipes over the next decade.
The final rule is being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget and is expected to come out by Oct. 16, both EPA and the White House confirmed.
EPA’s “Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” would direct water utilities to remove water-transporting service lines made of lead, a toxic heavy metal that is considered unsafe at any level and particularly dangerous to children.
Eliminating lead-contaminated drinking water — which has caused high-profile public health crises in places like Flint, Michigan — has been a long-standing promise of the Biden administration. Finalizing the rule would be a policy victory for President Joe Biden as he nears the end of his term.
