If you think about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, it’s disturbing and concerning. But what isn’t on people’s radar, but should be, is when we’re doing the work to prevent toxic water – providing clean air and clean water. This work is what President Biden has been doing during what his administration has rightly called the “infrastructure decade.” It’s a “moral responsibility,” they say.
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That moral imperative is why they announced new action Thursday to replace toxic lead pipes across the country and provide clean drinking water.
According to a White House fact sheet provided to PoliticusUSA:
President Biden will travel to Wilmington, North Carolina today to announce $3 billion in funding to replace toxic lead pipes through his Invest in America agenda. The investment, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is part of the historic $15 billion earmarked for lead pipe replacement provided by the President’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. Today’s announcement will provide funding to U.S. states and territories to help address lead in drinking water while creating good-paying jobs, many of them union jobs. Additionally, this program funding is part of the President’s Justice40 initiative, which sets a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments go to disadvantaged communities and is helping to address inequities in lead exposure.
Additionally, to further reduce lead exposure, the Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced nearly $90 million in available funding to reduce resident health hazards in public housing, including lead-based paint hazards, carbon monoxide, mold, radon, fire safety , and asbestos, advancing the president’s lead pipe and paint action plan.
Flint, Michigan, is the most high-profile example of environmental inequality that exists in poor communities. All Americans deserve access to safe drinking water. This is a human rights issue that should not happen in the United States.
“Nearly 50 percent of this funding will go to disadvantaged communities, making this a critical investment for communities that are chronically underserved and overburdened by pollution,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told PoliticusUSA in an interview. With today’s announcement, funds released so far will replace up to 1.7 million lead pipes, providing clean drinking water to countless homes across the country. In addition to this funding, our agency has released a memo to help states understand. How to best use this and other funding to reduce lead exposure in drinking water is now time to get ahead once and for all. This is a public health issue, an environmental justice issue, and a fundamental human rights issue.
The Biden administration is trying to make life better for Americans in the most basic and important ways. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air and drink water. President Biden is fulfilling his moral responsibility as president while achieving environmental justice for millions of Americans.
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