Cities Initiative Commends U.S. EPA for Ensuring Great Lakes States Receive Appropriate Share of Federal Funding for Lead Service Line Replacement

CHICAGO, April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative commends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for today's announcement that the 7^th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment incorporates updated data on lead service line burden, bringing more federal dollars to Great Lakes states. This policy change follows more than a year of advocacy by the Cities Initiative and the Mayors Commission on Water Equity and represents a key milestone in safeguarding the equitable distribution of federal funding for lead service line replacement.

Needs surveys are revised periodically and govern U.S. EPA's distribution of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to states in the form of capitalization grants. By incorporating data on lead service line burden, this latest version will ensure that Great Lakes states – where the nation's remaining lead service lines are most heavily concentrated – receive significant increases in federal funding to replace lead service lines.

"We have more lead service lines in the Great Lakes than anywhere in the country, and we need to get the lead out," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a Co-Chair of the Cities Initiative's Mayors Commission on Water Equity. "U.S. EPA clearly recognizes the equity of channeling federal resources to historically lead-burdened cities in order to make real progress on our shared goal of safe, clean and affordable drinking water for all."

"We welcome U.S. EPA's ongoing efforts to expedite progress on lead service line replacement," stated Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland, Ohio, a Co-Chair of the Cities Initiative's Mayors Commission on Water Equity. "It is critical for U.S. EPA to add new data to future iterations of the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment as water systems complete their lead service line inventories."

The 7^th Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment will now guide the distribution of federal funding for the DWSRF and lead service line replacement under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and congressional appropriations. The IIJA provides $11.73 billion for the DWSRF and $15 billion for lead service line replacement over five years; the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 provides $1.13 billion for the DWSRF.

In addition to the inclusion of data on lead service line burden, this needs survey finds $625 billion in capital improvements for drinking-water infrastructure are planned in the next 20-year period, a 32 percent increase above the financial needs identified by the previous survey. It also estimates that, based on the data received, there are 9.2 million lead service lines remaining in the United States, including more than four million remaining in Great Lakes states.

"We applaud U.S. EPA's responsiveness to our member cities' recommendations and are fortunate to have such a collaborative partner at the federal level," noted Mayor Billy McKinney of Zion, Illinois, the Cities Initiative's Chair. "However, with $625 billion needed for drinking-water infrastructure nationally over the next two decades and an estimated four million-plus lead service lines remaining in Great Lakes states, it is clear that our work is far from finished."

Per U.S. EPA's announcement, Great Lakes states will receive the following allotments for drinking-water infrastructure in FY23:

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational, mayor-led coalition of U.S. and Canadian cities dedicated to the environmental and socioeconomic health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. With more than 230 member cities, the Cities Initiative is the largest municipally-driven organization in the basin focused on these issues.

SOURCE The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative