- A coalition of 10 Democratic AGs, led by California AG Xavier Becerra, sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) commenting on the EPA’s proposed amendments to the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (“NPDWR”) for lead and copper under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act, commonly referred to as the Lead and Copper Rule (“LCR”), which sets nationwide standards for drinking water.
- In the letter, the AGs argue that some of the proposed revisions, including the proposed reduction in the annual replacement rate of lead service lines that connect homes to public water mains, would weaken existing protections against lead in drinking water and would disproportionately impact low-income communities.
- The AGs further argue that the proposed amendments would include alternative compliance options for “small” water systems – systems that serve under 10,000 customers, which comprise more than 90% of water systems in the United States – that would enable them to continue exceeding the lead action level without undertaking lead service line replacement.