Baltimore Sun Op-Ed: A good use for infrastructure funds: removing toxic lead from our drinking water
The Baltimore Sun published a Guest Commentary article from our Executive Director Tim Male about how to use infrastructure funds to remove toxic lead pipes.
Some takeaways:
One way to help those communities is for every state government to establish statewide contracts with intermediary businesses that specialize in working across communities to deliver small construction projects. Intermediaries are already doing this through many other government programs.
Another shortcut needed to accelerate lead pipe removal is the use of contracts that pay a fixed price only after work is completed. Thousands of local plumbers have firsthand knowledge of the location of lead pipes — so money shouldn’t only go to large construction and engineering firms. Plumbers and construction firms that are pre-authorized with local government or water utilities should be able to get paid back at a fixed rate for every replacement that is completed. More states and EPA should be encouraging this approach.
Lastly, EPA could also speed up pipe removal by clarifying that new funding can be used to retroactively pay for any documented lead pipe replaced since the infrastructure law passed. In other words, if a project can be completed today at the average cost that EPA expects, EPA should make clear that the replacement is funding-eligible, even if all the paperwork isn’t in place yet.
Without these innovative contracting approaches, millions of families will continue to be exposed to lead in their drinking water, years after we could have removed it.
