Lead pipe replacement could be a big environmental win in bipartisan infrastructure deal

If money goes into the package for replacing lead pipes, it could be one of the government’s few bipartisan environmental successes. The White House says replacing the pipes would reduce lead pollution in 400,000 schools and childcare facilities and improve the health of American children and colored communities.

“With this bipartisan infrastructure framework, we are still committed to a 100 percent replacement of lead lines,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told CNN on Thursday, “and we believe billions of dollars must be invested in other water infrastructure projects as well.”

The deal includes roughly half of the total water infrastructure money compared to Biden’s original American Jobs plan, but the removal of lead pipes is still a government priority. In the most recent memos received by CNN, Biden government officials, including White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy, are still committed to the government’s original goal of replacing 100 percent of these pipes and service lines with funding from the bill .

Biden’s pledge to eradicate lead pipes and utilities from the country’s water systems is a big part of the president’s commitment to environmental justice to prioritize overlooked and marginalized communities, Regan said.

Regan spoke to CNN from Michigan Thursday after completing a multi-day trip to the Midwest, where he met with local officials about lead pipe replacements and other water quality issues.

Regan said Milwaukee still has about 70,000 lead pipes in the ground, and Flint, Michigan is still recovering from the aftermath of its water crisis that began in 2014 after officials switched the city of Detroit’s water source to the Flint River process in which aging lead pipes were used.

As a result, the residents of Flint were forced to use water that contained toxic lead. Twelve people eventually died, dozens became ill, and studies suggest that up to 14,000 children under the age of 6 have been exposed to lead, which damages the brain and nervous system. The crisis led to charges against former Michigan governor Rick Synder and eight other state and city officials.

“These communities have been through a lot and have been traumatized by a failed system,” Regan said. “Flint has faced a lead crisis and is working its way out of the lead pipe crisis, but they have other water quality challenges that they also wanted to discuss with the EPA.”

How much money could Biden raise on infrastructure by tightening IRS enforcement?  It is unclear

Biden is calling on Congress to add 20 percent to the EPA budget in 2022, and there is a possibility that more funding for other water infrastructure modernizations could come from a budget balancing bill that can be passed by a simple Democratic majority in the Senate.

“As the President mentioned, he also talked about budget balancing as a mechanism,” said Regan. “He’s looking at all of the tools in his toolbox to further pursue the very ambitious agenda he has for this administration.”

Some of the other major government climate actions, including a clean power standard and hundreds of billions of billions of billions of billions of tax incentives for clean energy, were not included in the bipartisan framework. While the American employment plan originally set a total of $ 111 billion for water infrastructure – of which $ 45 billion was to be allocated to the removal and replacement of lead pipes – a framework for the bipartisan agreement provides for $ 55.2 billion the water infrastructure.

In addition to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the von Biden White House and Democrats in Congress are also pursuing a budget vote bill that is likely to include several of the government’s top climate priorities. US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Thursday that she believes a standard for clean electricity can pass the US Senate through a budget adjustment.

“The bottom line is we’re negotiating this now and I think we can get that across the finish line,” Granholm told Blackwell.

You might also like

Comments are closed.