EPIC Will Support Lead Service Line Replacement in 50 New Communities Over the Next Three Years
Announcement Timed with White House Summit on Lead Pipe Replacement
MEDIA CONTACT: Maureen Cunningham, Environmental Policy Innovation Center, maureen@policyinnovation.org, (518) 469-4748
Washington, DC – The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) announced today that it will support 50 overburdened communities across the country over the next three years in their lead service line replacement efforts.
There are approximately six to ten million lead pipes in thousands of communities across the country. Many communities face steep challenges knowing how to get started, where their pipes are, how to secure funding, and how to initiate a replacement program that is equitable for all residents.
This announcement of supporting 50 new communities builds off EPIC’s work over the past two years on the Lead-Free Water Challenge and is also part of an ongoing effort to connect more communities to federal funds for water infrastructure projects through EPIC’s role as a Funding Navigator and a National Environmental Finance Center (EFC).
“Replacing all of America’s six to ten million lead pipes is a solvable problem in a generation or less,” says Timothy Male, Executive Director of the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. “No one should have to live with the threat of lead in their drinking water. The Environmental Policy Innovation Center is pleased to work with the Biden-Harris administration, mayors and elected officials, water utilities, and communities to replace lead pipes over the next decade.”
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About Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC): The Environmental Policy innovation Center (EPIC) builds policies that deliver spectacular improvement in the speed and scale of environmental progress. A nonprofit start-up, EPIC is committed to finding and highlighting the best approaches for scaling up results quickly. EPIC focuses on water equity, watershed partnerships, endangered species, environmental markets, and the use of data and technology in producing conservation outcomes. We aim to advance innovative policies that provide equitable access to safe, reliable, and affordable water. We do this by engaging diverse partners, exploring out-of-the-box solutions, and championing policy change to address disparities across water systems.
EPIC is a member of the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, a joint effort of national public health, water utility, environmental, labor, consumer, housing, and state and local governmental organizations to accelerate full removal of the lead pipes providing drinking water to millions of American homes. More on our work on lead service line replacement can be found at: www.policyinnovation.org/leadfreewater