The new regulation will roll back a more lenient policy set by former President Donald Trump’s administration.
President Joe Biden set a 10-year deadline this week for cities across the nation to replace lead pipes in an effort to ensure safe drinking water.
Biden is expected to reveal a new Environmental Protection Agency rule on Tuesday while campaigning in Wisconsin, a key battleground state. The timing comes just weeks before the presidential election, and the rule is set to address safe drinking water—an issue Vice President Kamala Harris has championed both in her current role and during her own campaign for the presidency.
This new regulation will tighten standards on lead pipe replacement, rolling back a more lenient policy set by former President Donald Trump’s administration. That policy did not mandate the universal removal of lead pipes.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan said that both Biden and Harris believe that ensuring clean drinking water to all Americans is “a moral imperative.”
“We 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”, Regan said.
