EPA’s Lead Regulation Plan Too ‘Complex,’ Science Advisers Say

The EPA should set a single threshold level for an upcoming water regulation that would require utilities to replace lead pipes and make tap water less corrosive, the agency’s science advisers say.

At issue is a trigger level, or warning bell, in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Nov. 13 proposal (RIN 2040-AF15) to revise its 1991 lead and copper rule.

Utilities that detect lead levels in tap water at 10 parts per billion or more would have to reassess their strategies for making water less corrosive and begin developing plans to replace lead pipes. When concentrations hit 15 ppb, ...