Some states pass on federal money aimed to help find and replace water-contaminating lead pipes

Lead pipes have to be found and replaced.
(Photo by Luis Tosta, Unsplash)

The Biden Administration is offering states funding to address “millions of dangerous lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water and damage brain development in children,” reports Michael Phillis of The Associated Press. But some states are rejecting the assistance, “Washington, Oregon, Maine and Alaska declined all or most of their federal funds in the first of five years that the mix of grants and loans is available.”

States may have rejected the money because it requires local spending, and some areas “are less prepared to pay for lead removal projects because, in many cases, the lead must first be found, experts said. . . . Communities are hesitant to take out loans to search for their lead pipes,” Phillis writes. Erik Olson, a health and food expert at the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, told Phillis, “It’s troubling that a state would decide to take a complete pass on the funding because part of the reason for the funding is to figure out whether you even have lead.”

The U.S. has 9.2 million lead pipes providing water to homes. "The 2021 infrastructure law provides $15 billion to find and replace them. That money will help a lot, but it isn’t enough to get all the toxic pipes out of the ground. State programs distribute the federal funds to utilities," Phillis explains. "The states that declined funds have fewer problematic pipes, but that doesn’t mean lead isn’t an issue."

Finding lead pipes is a mysterious grind, and in some cases, once lead plumbing is located, the ownership and expense of replacing it are tied between a public utility and a homeowner. Deirdre Finn, executive director of the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, a group that represents the federally funded state programs that distribute infrastructure funds, told Phillis, "This is a great opportunity. But it would be helpful if states and utilities had access to 100% grant funding to move these projects along." Phillis reports, "Grants can help utilities pay to replace the homeowner’s side, Finn said."