Ten AGs Filed Petition for Review of EPA’s Regressive Revisions to Lead and Copper Rule

MARCH 1, 2021

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 10 attorneys general in filing a petition for review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 2021 revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). State AGs previously filed comments expressing support for some of the changes, while warning that the reduction of the lead service line replacement rate — from 7 percent to 3 percent annually — may violate an anti-backsliding provision of the SDWA. The AGs’ comments also urged the EPA to reduce the action level for replacing pipes below the current 15 parts per billion, given significant advancements in lead detection and service line replacement techniques, and the overwhelming evidence of the serious health risks of lead exposure.