U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox announced the Get the Lead Out (GLO) Initiative that will help ensure safer drinking water for communities as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. Through the GLO initiative, which is funded entirely by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is in partnership with the Department of Labor, the EPA will partner with 200 underserved communities nationwide to provide the technical assistance they need to identify and remove lead service lines. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government effort to tackle lead exposure, the EPA will help communities remove the barriers to lead pipe removal. GLO will specifically help participating communities identify lead services lines, develop replacement plans, and apply for funding to get the lead out. Communities seeking to access GLO Initiative resources can request assistance by completing the WaterTA request form on EPA’s WaterTA website.
“An estimated 9.2 million pipes that provide drinking water to homes across the United States still contain lead, and they are most commonly found in older homes. This means they disproportionately impact families with the fewest resources to remove them. That’s why this new initiative is so critical—it will provide the kind of assistance that’s needed to accelerate the removal of lead where it’s needed most,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the EPA is positioned to help connect more communities to historic federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and move our country closer to President Biden’s goal of getting 100 percent of lead pipes out of water-once and for all.”
Signed in 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided a historic $50 billion investment in water and wastewater infrastructure, dedicating more than $15 billion to replacing lead service lines. The EPA is committed to ensuring that every community, particularly underserved and disadvantaged communities, can access their fair share of this unprecedented investment through a robust portfolio of Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA) programs, such as GLO.
The EPA is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for community and state support through peer exchange and learning. Through GLO, The EPA will develop tools and case studies to share information and best practices between the Agency, state and Tribal programs, water system managers, and community leaders.
Communities can learn more about the EPA’s WaterTA programs, apply to become a GLO Initiative community, and find other assistance on the EPA’s WaterTA website.
