The Environmental Protection Agency said it will make $3 billion available to states and territories to replace lead drinking water pipes. President Joe Biden is expected to make the announcement Thursday during a trip to North Carolina, which will receive $76 million of the funds.  

What You Need To Know

  • The EPA announced Thursday that it will make $3 billion available to states and territories to replace lead drinking water pipes

  • Lead exposure can cause irreversible brain damage in children

  • About 1.7 million lead pipes will be replaced through the EPA's Lead Service Line Replacement Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

  • The program is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

“The science is clear. There is no safe level of lead exposure, and the primary source of harmful exposure in drinking water is through lead pipes,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement.

Lead exposure can cause irreversible brain damage in children and is most common in low-income families and communities of color, the EPA said.

The agency’s Lead Service Line Replacement Drinking Water State Revolving Fund has so far allocated $9 billion of the $15 billion designated for lead service line identification and replacement through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The monies are allocated proportionate to need, the agency said. The EPA said there are about 9 million lead service lines nationally, of which 1.7 million are expected to be replaced through the program.