There is no safe level of lead exposure — period. But tens of millions of people across the country continue to have their drinking water delivered through corroding, often century-old lead pipes, allowing this potent neurotoxin to make its way into their bodies and cause irreversible harm — especially in children.
While these lead pipes are found in all 50 states in communities large and small, rich and poor, decades of disinvestment and denial — particularly in low-income communities and communities of color — have resulted in failing water infrastructure across the country.
The Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is a federal protection meant to keep lead out of drinking water. The rule was already woefully outdated and inadequate — yet in its final weeks, the Trump administration weakened the rule and refused to require the removal of the 6-10 million lead service lines that remain in use across the country, leaving millions of people's health at risk.
NRDC raced to court to stop Trump's rule from going into effect, and we will continue to fight as hard as possible to ensure safe drinking water for all communities. But there's more work to be done.
Thankfully, President Biden's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has paused Trump's weak LCR. And now the EPA is asking for public input on whether to establish a new, stronger Lead and Copper Rule, and is particularly asking to hear from communities most at risk. NRDC is rallying to generate 100,000 comments by the June 30 deadline. Will you help?
Please submit your public comment urging President Biden's EPA to dramatically strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule by requiring the removal of ALL lead pipes across the country. Submitting an official written public comment to the EPA is an excellent first step to remedy our nation's drinking water crisis. But there's one more way you can act:
The EPA is holding a series of "Virtual Public Listening Sessions" on April 28 and May 5 that will give you a chance to talk to the agency directly and share your story on why you want the EPA to get the lead out of our drinking water.
After you submit a public comment, we'll send you an email with a link to sign up for an upcoming listening session, as well as a speaking guide so you can be confident in your call for safe drinking water for all. Drinking water from lead pipes is like drinking from a lead straw. Even low lead levels pose significant health risks, particularly to children and fetuses, damaging the brain and nervous system, and causing learning disabilities, impaired hearing, and more. And in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's more important than ever that people have safe water to drink so they can live healthier lives.
Clean water is essential to life and good health, but for tens of millions of people across the country, drinking water served by systems that violate health standards has been part of their daily lives. And lack of access to safe and affordable drinking water hits poor people and disadvantaged communities the hardest — an unjust attack on the well-being of people based on their income and zip code.
It doesn't have to be this way. We can put an end to this public health disaster and help remedy the nation's water woes, but there's no time to waste:
Submit a public comment before the June 30 deadline. We need the EPA to bolster the Lead and Copper Rule by requiring the removal of lead pipes contaminating our drinking water.
If you have a story to share about lead contaminated drinking water, please include that in your letter to the EPA. Personalizing your letter will make it more effective.
Antonio, with President Biden in the White House, we now have a historic new opportunity to change course and guarantee safe drinking water for everyone.
The Biden administration's American Jobs Plan to rebuild our country's infrastructure would inject more than $100 billion into improving overall water infrastructure, helping to put an end to the crisis of lead-contaminated water. Biden's plan would:
- Remove all 6-10 million lead pipes delivering drinking water to homes in all 50 states at no cost to the homeowner
- Get people back to work and create new good-paying jobs in the lead pipe removal industry
- Expedite the removal of these pipes in communities suffering disproportionately from lead-contaminated water
- Make drinking water infrastructure across the country stronger and more resilient in the face of climate change-driven extreme weather, like the cold snap in Texas and other states that cut water service for millions
Put simply, Biden's plan will deliver real benefits to people in every corner of the country through clean water and good jobs, correct an injustice flowing through the taps in millions of homes, and give us all a reason to be hopeful that better days are ahead.
But this future can only happen if we take action right now. Don't wait — help us get to 100,000 public comments urging the EPA to take bold steps to strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule and help deliver safe and affordable drinking water to all.
And when you're done, please sign up to participate in the EPA's upcoming Virtual Listening Sessions.
Thank you for taking this important action. I have no doubt that when it comes to removing lead from our drinking water, people are going to make the difference.
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