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Jimmy Williams
Last month marked two years since President Joe Biden signed the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal ((Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) into law.
The $1.2 trillion law seeks to invest in and upgrade various aspects of the United States’ infrastructure, including roads, bridges, airports, ports, broadband, water infrastructure, and the electrical grid. It represents a bipartisan effort to address longstanding challenges that the previous administration made promises to address but fell short of delivering.
There are over 40,000 projects across the country currently receiving funding from the law. The projects range from multi-billion dollar projects like the Hudson River Tunnel Project in New Jersey to small community projects in various cities around the country.
On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled groundbreaking rules that would compel most U.S. cities to replace all lead water pipes within the next ten years using funding from the infrastructure law. The proposal, called the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, marks a departure from existing norms where many cities are unaware of the presence of lead pipes, and replacements are not enforced.
Lead pipes connecting water mains to homes, often found in older industrial regions, are a major source of lead contamination. Lead crises, disproportionately impacting poorer, majority-Black cities, have highlighted the urgency to address lead in drinking water on a national scale. The EPA’s proposal aims not only to rectify public health issues but also to rectify past injustices by ensuring equitable access to safe, lead-free drinking water.
“The administration is taking big steps to get lead out of the pipes that get drinking water to so many Americans,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told us when we reached him after a Cabinet meeting where the lead pipe remediation proposal was discussed.
“There is no safe level of lead, and we have seen so many lives affected by this. Children who are exposed to lead in their drinking water. The affects can last a lifetime,” said Sec. Buttigieg. “This rule is an unprecedented commitment to make sure that every community in the country does what it takes to get those lead pipes replaced and make sure that every single child, every single American has safe, clean drinking water.”
The push to eliminate lead pipes aligns with the Biden administration’s commitment to infrastructure investment, with $15 billion allocated in the 2021 infrastructure law for locating and replacing lead pipes. Additionally, $11.7 billion in general-purpose funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund can also be used for lead pipe replacement.
In addition to taking action towards achieving 100 percent replacement of lead service lines, EPA’s proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements increase tap water sampling requirements, require water systems to complete comprehensive and publicly available lead service line inventories, and strengthen and streamline requirements for water systems to take additional actions to reduce lead health risks to communities.
While the endeavor is ambitious, the EPA believes the advantages in terms of public health far outweigh the associated costs.
During the Cabinet meeting, officials also discussed how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is “repaving roads, rebuilding bridges, and bringing clean water to families through over 40,000 projects across 4,500 communities in all 50 states,” and how President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda “has unleashed over $600 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments since the beginning of the Administration.”
“We’ve got 40,000 projects and counting funded through the President’s infrastructure package,” said Sec. Buttigieg. “Thats everything from getting affordable internet to more homes to the things we work on in my department – fixing roads and bridges. These are going to affect everything from people’s commute to something you won’t directly see, but you’ll see it in the lower cost of living- which is the cost of shipping goods.”
As we pass the two-year milestone since the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, our nation is witnessing a transformative journey towards safer, more efficient infrastructure and equitable access to clean water. With tens of thousands of projects underway across diverse communities, the impact is tangible—from the revitalization of major transportation hubs to the vital mission of eradicating lead pipes. The commitment to public health and a sustainable future remains at the forefront of these initiatives.
For an interactive map of the various projects across the country that have been funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, click here.
