Biden infrastructure plan puts water upgrades on tap
Advocates press for stricter lead rule
WASHINGTON — The race to eliminate the scourge of lead contamination of drinking water and the overflows of sewage and sludge in Pittsburgh and cities across the country would get a serious boost under President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, announced last week near Pittsburgh.
Mr. Biden’s plan called for $45 billion for grants to help water utilities replace lead water lines — a level of funding experts said would pay for the replacement of all lead lines nationwide. Another $56 billion was proposed for water and sewer projects, and $10 billion was proposed to clean PFAS or polyfluoroalkyl substances — a so-called “forever chemical” found mostly on military bases, airports and other sites that have used firefighting foam — from drinking water.
The White House estimated that some 6 million to 10 million American households still receive drinking water through lead pipes and service lines. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lead, a neurotoxin, is especially harmful to young children, and it can cause developmental delays, learning disabilities and behavioralproblems.
Mr.Biden’s water funding proposal is mostly in line with bipartisan efforts in Congress already in motion in both the House and Senate. If lawmakers follow through with their stated strategy to move smaller infrastructure bills — as opposed to one massive bill — the water infrastructure component could be poised to pass by this summer.
“That’s going to be a huge deal,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which last month introduced legislation that included $52 billion for drinking water improvements. “This is going to help the City of Pittsburgh and other communities that still have lead pipes.”
On March 24, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously advanced the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, which would authorize more than $35 billion for drinking water and wastewater projects.
The funding proposals come as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moves to revise its lead and copper rule following the Trump administration’s revisions in December.
“It is essential that EPA takes the time now to review this important rule to ensure that we are protecting current and future generations,” Radhika Fox, acting assistant administrator for water, stated on March 10.
The Trump-era revisions, which included a new requirement that community water systems test for lead at child care centers and elementary schools, were the first updates to the rule in three decades. They required public water systems to identify lead service lines and publicize their locations.
But environmental advocates, critical of the Trump requirements that allowed utilities to leave lead lines in place for more than 30 years, are pressing the Biden administration to require utilities to speed up replacement projects.
“We’ve been trying to clean up the enormous mess of lead contamination for decades,” said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who has been working on the issue for 35 years.
The NRDC was among a group of environmental organizations that sued the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority over lead contamination. The legal settlement, approved by state utility officials in March 2020, required, among other things, Pittsburgh’s lead water pipes to be removed by 2026.
Mr. Olson said the $45 billion likely would be able to achieve a “10 in 10” demand — replacing the country’s 10 million miles of lead pipe within the next 10 years. “The funding that the president is proposing would smooth the way to actually making that happen,” he said.
PWSA has replaced more than 8,000 public lead lines, and more than 5,000 private lead service lines have been replaced at a cost of $90 million, according to a PWSA spokeswoman. According to best available data, fewer than 12,000 lead pipes remain in the system that serves 83,000 customers.
PWSA’s project map shows active work zones in the areas of Millvale, Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington, Greenfield and Arlington, and planned projects in Uptown, Oakland, Hazelwood, East Liberty and Highland Park.
The boost in funding would be a welcome change, as federal investment in water infrastructure has dropped significantly since the Clean Water Act was passed a half-century ago, Rebecca Zito, the spokeswoman, wrote in an email in response to questions.
“Everyone is grappling with balancing rates against the amount of work that needs to be done,” Ms. Zito wrote. “Federal funding could help alleviate some of the financial burden on utilities and ultimately utility customers that are paying higher rates because of a lack of federal investment in water systems.”
The $45 billion in federal funding would come via the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, an EPA program created in 1996 that provides money to states, which pony up a 20% match. That funding is distributed to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, PennVEST, which provides low-interest loans and grants for water system improvements.
In January 2020, PWSA receiveda $65 million low-interest state loan through PennVEST for the first phase of a planned five-year, $326 million water main and lead service line replacement project. That loan financed replacement of more than 80,000 linear feet of aging water distribution mains, publicly owned portions of more than 2,000 water service lines and approximately 850 lead public service lines.
While PWSA digs up lead lines, many smaller water utilities need federal funding to start the process from the beginning, Steve Hvozdovich, the Pennsylvania campaigns director for Clean Water Action, said. Many utilities, already financially strapped after waiving bills for struggling rate-payers during the pandemic, face costly upgrades that, absent federal funding, would fall on the backs of those customers.
Last Wednesday, the EPA announced 12-hour virtual public listening sessions on April 28 and May 5 to discuss updates to its lead and copper rule. Those interested in speaking can sign up for a three-minute speaking slot on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/safewater.
President Joe Biden’s water funding proposal is mostly in line with bipartisan efforts in Congress already in motion in both the House and Senate. If lawmakers follow through with their stated strategy to move smaller infrastructure bills — as opposed to one massive bill — the water infrastructure component could be poised to pass by this summer.