New EPA Rule On Lead Coming In August

The U.S. EPA is planning to propose a new rule to support the goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act and clarify expectations for lead in public water systems, according to the agency’s spring regulatory agenda released in May.

In August, the agency plans to propose regulations pertaining to Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The agency wants a final rule to be formalized by February of 2018.

The backdrop: Congress passed a law in 1986 prohibiting “the use of pipes, solder or flux that are not ‘lead free’ in public water systems or plumbing in facilities providing water for human consumption,” according to the EPA.

“At the time ‘Lead Free” was defined as solder and flux with no more than 0.2 percent lead and pipes with no more than 8 percent,” the agency says.

The mandate has been updated since then. In 2011, Congress changed the definition of lead-free, and the new rules went into effect in 2014. This change revised “the maximum allowable lead content from not more than 8 percent to not more than a weighted average of 0.25 percent of the wetted surface of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures.”

What will happen in the upcoming rulemaking? The EPA says it is planning to “propose regulations to codify and assist in the implementation of...amendments to section 1417 of SDWA.”

The lead contamination crisis in Flint, MI, is sure to play into any EPA rulemaking around lead and water in the coming months. Flint is still fighting major consequences caused by lead in its infrastructure. “A new report average cost for replacing service water lines was $7,500. That's almost double the average cost of $4,000 estimated by state last fall,” The Detroit Free Press reported.

Other water issues on the EPA's regulatory agenda this spring:

• Clean Water Act Methods Update Rule for the Analysis of Effluent
• Credit Assistance for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Projects
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Application and Program Updates Rule
• Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System General Permit Remand Rule
• Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4) for Public Water Systems
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Application and Program Updates Rule