Mapping out where lead service lines exist so they can eventually be replaced is an important step in creating a water infrastructure system that equitably delivers safe, clean water to all Ohioans. 

Ohio has the second-most lead service lines of any state in the country and, as the governor has said, there’s simply no safe level of lead exposure — especially for children, the elderly and other vulnerable communities. The Alliance looks forward to continued collaboration with the governor’s office on this important issue.

###

Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.

The post Alliance Commends H2Ohio Investment in Lead Service Line Mapping appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Anna-Lisa Castle serves as Policy Director, Clean Water & Equity at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, in which she leads campaigns supporting clean water access, equitable investment in water infrastructure, and climate resiliency water policy across the Great Lakes region. Anna-Lisa connects water policy priorities across the local, state, and federal levels by amplifying the work of strategic local drinking water, graywater, and stormwater initiatives, developing policy analysis and advocacy priorities with a focus on state-level policy, and convening stakeholders across the region in a collective impact approach.

Resources

Federal money to replace lead pipes is just a first step to cleaner drinking

water in Chicago (Op-Ed)

The post Anna-Lisa Castle – Toxic Lead Pipes in the Great Lakes appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

“We applaud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for directing states to invest nearly half of new water infrastructure funding in historically disadvantaged communities with their new memo on how money from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is to be used via the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs).

“The Great Lakes region is home to seven of the ten states with the greatest number of toxic lead pipes still in use, with Illinois, Ohio and Michigan at the top of the list. Historically, SRF money has not always reached communities with the most need. We hope that EPA’s new implementation memo will ensure that funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, particularly the $15 billion in dedicated funding for lead pipe removal, will be equitably deployed. 

“Today’s memo — with its focus on ensuring increased investment in disadvantaged communities, the need for rapid progress on full lead service line replacement, and flexibility to address local water needs  — is an important step in beginning to counteract historic environmental injustices. We look forward to continuing our work with the U.S. EPA and the states, which will implement these infrastructure investment programs to ensure all communities have equal access to clean, affordable drinking water.”

###

Media Contact: Jennifer Caddick, jcaddick@acastlegreatlakes-org

The post Statement: Alliance Applauds US EPA Efforts to Ensure Water Infrastructure Funding Reaches Communities Most in Need appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

The annual priorities outline our federal policy agenda and identify the next steps Congress should take in this session to protect the lakes. Today we’ll discuss our top Great Lakes priorities for lawmakers in Washington, DC, and dig into the opportunities and challenges facing our agenda in the year ahead.

Speakers include Alliance for the Great Lakes policy experts:
Joel Brammeier, President & CEO
Molly Flanagan, COO & Vice President for Programs
Crystal M.C. Davis, Vice President for Policy and Strategic Engagement
Don Jodrey, Director of Federal Relations
Jennifer Caddick, Vice President, Communications & Engagement (Moderator)

Resources

Please read our blog for a summary of the Great Lakes Federal Policy Agenda. You can also view our previously recorded webinar to hear our priorities laid out in detail. Let’s keep the momentum going in 2022! Tell Congress: do 3 big things this year to protect the Great Lakes and the people who depend on them.

The post Great Lakes Federal Policy Priorities 2022 appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Note: This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.

Increasing funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure was a key item on our list of Great Lakes legislative priorities for the Biden administration and Congress this year. After months of negotiations, Congress delivered with a vote on November 5  to approve the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 – a $1.2 trillion funding package. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

The bipartisan bill sets the stage for sorely needed new investments in water infrastructure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the Great Lakes states will need approximately $188 billion in additional water infrastructure investment over the next twenty years. And communities around the lakes continue to struggle with contamination from aging lead service lines. Benton Harbor, Michigan, is just the latest Great Lakes community experiencing a significant water emergency caused by lead in their drinking water from the lead pipes bringing drinking water into homes.

Fortunately, the infrastructure bill makes a solid down payment on our water infrastructure needs, including the long-overdue replacement of lead service lines. Although not perfect, the bill includes an additional $50 billion in supplemental funding for nationwide investments in water infrastructure over the next five years, including:

• an additional $11.7 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund,
• $11.7 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund,
• $15 billion to replace harmful lead service lines, and,
• $10 billion to address PFAS (or forever chemicals) contamination.

This is a significant bump in funding for programs used by communities to pay for repairs and upgrades to replace lead service lines, upgrade water pipes and treatment plants, and other water and sewer needs.

An additional $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is also included in the bill. These funds will support on-the-ground projects around the lakes to clean up toxic pollutants, restore habitat, reduce pollution from nutrient runoff, and combat invasive species.

Congress listened to advocates from around the Great Lakes region who wrote letters and called their representatives in Washington, DC, and spoke out about the critical need for funding to fix our region’s antiquated water infrastructure. And we applaud the bipartisan efforts in Congress that led to the passage of this bill, which restores and protects our Great Lakes and provides significant environmental, human health, and economic benefits for our citizens.

The post Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act To Become Law appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

“We are encouraged to see the House pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which will become law upon President Biden’s signature. The bill includes major funding commitments that will benefit the Great Lakes states and its citizens – including $62 billion for water infrastructure improvements nationwide over the next five years and $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

More specifically, we are happy to see increased funding for clean water and drinking water state revolving funds ($37.2 billion); lead service line replacement ($15 billion); and PFAS mitigation ($10 billion). We appreciate the bipartisan negotiations in the Senate that produced this important piece of legislation.

Everyone in the United States deserves access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water. While this bill will certainly help that goal become reality, there is more to be done: The U.S. EPA has estimated that $188 billion over the next 20 years will be needed for improvements, upgrades and repairs to water infrastructure in the Great Lakes states alone. The cost to fully replace every lead service line in the country is estimated at $45 billion, which exceeds the funds made available by both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better legislation. 

The Alliance for the Great Lakes remains committed to working with the Biden administration and members of Congress to ensure that funding for this important work is fully secured and that our precious natural resources are restored and protected for future generations.”

###

Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.

The post Statement: House Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Encouraging News for Great Lakes appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

My Work. My Community
As a Water Policy Manager at the Alliance for the Great Lakes and as a resident of the McKinley Park neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, I wear two hats.

I am a water policy professional working to develop and advance policy solutions to complex water infrastructure and governance challenges, like safely removing toxic lead drinking water pipes without burdening households already struggling with water affordability and quality challenges. This is especially urgent as there is no safe level of lead in water, which can cause irreparable harm to neurological development in children and myriad other health impacts to people of all ages.

I am also part of an environmental justice community – McKinely Park – of about 15,000 people, plurality Latino and Asian with majority low- and moderate-income households in older housing stock served by lead service lines. We have heavy truck traffic and industrial activity and our neighborhood has increasingly been targeted for development.

When the ground literally shakes under semis and bulldozers, I think about the lead pipes delivering drinking water to all of us. I wonder if the corrosion treatment lining those pipes has been compromised or if toxic lead particles have shaken loose, leaching into the water we drink, cook with, and bathe our children in. I wonder if my multilingual neighbors are able to access information or resources to protect themselves against lead contamination. And I wonder how lead in water factors into the layers of other stressors on my neighborhood, including industrial pollution, rising housing and utility costs, and, recently, the havoc wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. The cumulative impact is something my neighbors and I are deeply concerned about and work to address as part of our local, community-based organization, Neighbors for Environmental Justice. 

Illinois Taking Steps to Eliminate Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water
Aging lead service lines represent an unnecessary public health liability even when they sit undisturbed and largely invisible to the public, connecting millions of households to water mains around the country. The problem is national in scope, with an estimated 10+ million lead service lines in use, not to mention millions more made of “unknown materials”. Taken together, the Great Lakes – which provide drinking water to 30+ million people in the U.S. – are home to 7 of the top 10 states with the highest number of lead service lines.

Illinois is at the top of that list, with Chicago the epicenter of this national crisis. The Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act (HB 3739) approved by the Illinois General Assembly earlier this year, is due for the governor’s signature within days. Illinois will become the second U.S. state to pass lead service line replacement legislation, following Michigan. Leaders at Metropolitan Planning Council, Illinois Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, and many others deserve a lot of credit in getting us here. Communities, water utilities, state agencies, and nonprofit partners will need to be diligent to ensure the law is implemented equitably.

Many states have required inventories to identify lead service lines, but more of our Great Lakes states should step up to support full replacement and safe, affordable, lead-free drinking water. Communities don’t have to wait for state legislation. We can look to cities like Cincinnati, Ohio, Madison, Wisconsin, and Denver, Colorado which has taken on full lead service line replacement with cost-sharing options or no cost to homeowners.

Congressional Action Needed
And Congress must step up, too. The Great Lakes Congressional delegation must continue to prioritize lead service line replacement in the federal infrastructure package and keep or increase proposed funding levels to address the multibillion-dollar backlog of drinking water infrastructure needs. According to the American Water Works Association, an estimated $1 trillion is needed to repair, replace, and expand drinking water systems over the next two decades. Water infrastructure funding must also include support for technical assistance to community water systems that most need it to develop robust, equitable lead service line replacement programs and strategies to engage the people they serve in that process.

US EPA Must Take Clear and Decisive Action
At the same time, the US Environmental Protection Agency must take a strong, science-backed, and health-based approach to revise and update the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). A strong federal LCR is essential for driving action and setting a high bar for communities around the country, including my hometown of Chicago, where I have worked with valued colleagues on the city’s Lead Service Line Replacement Working Group. Even as US EPA continues to review and revise the LCR, the anticipated rule is already serving as an impetus for cities like Chicago to start on lead service line replacement and get ahead of federal action. Clear and decisive action by US EPA on the federal lead rule is needed to safeguard public health.

Looking to the Future
Safe, affordable, lead-free water is essential for everyone in the region, but too many are living without this basic water security. Public policy governing our drinking water must take a health-based, equity-driven approach that speeds up, not slows down, removal of toxins from our water. The Alliance looks forward to continuing to work with our partners, US EPA, and the Great Lakes Congressional delegation to ensure that communities have the tools they need to realize safe, clean affordable water for all.

The post Illinois shows leadership for lead-free drinking water; further action is needed across the Great Lakes region appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

A call to increase drinking water and wastewater infrastructure funding was near the top of the Alliance’s annual list of federal legislative priorities. And now the issue is front and center in Washington.

Before I share a rundown of where legislation stands, first a quick refresher on the issue. Communities across the Great Lakes region continue to grapple with crumbling, antiquated drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, which includes drinking water and sewage treatment plants and the pipes that carry water to and from our homes. It’s not just a Great Lakes problem. Our nation’s drinking water infrastructure is woefully in need of repair. In 2021, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water system a “C minus” and said that much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. But, fixing infrastructure is expensive. The eight Great Lakes states need $188 billion over the next 20 years for improvements, upgrades, and repairs to this infrastructure

Back in March, President Biden unveiled a massive infrastructure spending proposal – the American Jobs Plan – and his FY22 budget also includes investments in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. The President’s budget and legislative proposals respond to our advocacy on behalf of Great Lakes citizens who deserve clean and affordable drinking water and clean water for recreation. The key question now is, how will the Congress respond to the President’s efforts to invest in fixing our massive infrastructure problems?

The initial legislative action in Congress is encouraging and it’s notable that one of the first bi-partisan bills to pass the United States Senate last month centered on water infrastructure needs. The Senate’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 passed the Senate 89-2 and proposes to spend $35 billion over five years to upgrade drinking and wastewater infrastructure around the country and to target communities most in need in doing so. The Senate’s proposed $35 billion investment is a good first step to address the needs of the Great Lakes, but we know that more is necessary. The bill still has hurdles before it can become law as it has only passed the Senate.

The House of Representatives is also tackling infrastructure legislation. In an encouraging development, two committees in the House are currently considering larger water-related investments. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act together propose to invest $101 billion in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. Committee hearings and markups – the process by which legislators debate bills by suggesting rewrites or amendments – are underway.

But where is all this going and how will it come together? The President’s American Jobs Plan proposed $111 billion for drinking and wastewater infrastructure spending over eight years, and that amount is much larger than either the Senate or House legislation considered to date. The President’s plan is being met with some resistance in Congress, with concerns being expressed by some House and Senate members over cost and scope of the plans. It is very much a subject of legislative negotiation and discussion with compromises still to be reached. But as with any domestic investment of this size and scale, this negotiation is to be expected.

So we remain engaged in the legislative process to inform Congress of our water needs. And, you can too. Hundreds of Great Lakes advocates sent letters to their Members of Congress in late April and it’s not too late to weigh in. It’s important that Congress hear from people like you as they debate these bills. We make it easy for you to send a letter in our Great Lakes Action Center.

The post Water Infrastructure Front and Center in Washington, DC appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

“Our work at the Alliance for the Great Lakes is focused on protecting the fresh, clean, and natural waters of the Great Lakes, which supply drinking water to millions of Americans. Therefore, we are encouraged to see President Biden make major water infrastructure commitments today during his speech in Pittsburgh, to the tune of $111 billion. Specifically, lead pipe replacement (allocated at $45 billion) and the modernization of America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure ($66 billion) are two critically important priorities for the Great Lakes region, and we look forward to seeing these investments in action. The American Jobs Plan also prioritizes natural infrastructure investments to better protect Great Lakes communities against some of the worsening impacts of climate change.

Due to decades of neglect, our current water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life, and the EPA has estimated that $188 billion over the next 20 years will be needed in improvements, upgrades, and repairs to these systems in the Great Lakes alone.

Simply put, it’s unacceptable that people don’t have access to safe, clean water in such a water-rich region due to the state of our infrastructure. The longer we wait to do something, the more expensive this problem becomes for taxpayers and the more vulnerable our waters are to the threats of climate change. Not only that, but the damage will continue to be disproportionately felt by the Great Lakes’ underserved rural communities and communities of color unless we create sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient solutions.

Today’s speech was an important first step for the United States to begin repairing our water infrastructure, a subject that regularly enjoys support from both sides of the aisle and will lead to job creation in addition to the environmental and public health benefits. We are excited to continue working with the Biden administration and members of Congress to create a water infrastructure plan that works for all Great Lakes residents.”

###

Media contact: Jennifer Caddick, jcaddick@greatlakes.org

The post An Important First Step appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.

In reaction to the Governor’s announcement, Alliance for the Great Lakes Policy Director Crystal Davis made the following statement:

“We applaud the Governor’s commitment to finding opportunities to build in accountability to the H2Ohio implementation plan. With this significant investment of taxpayer dollars, we need to be sure the programs lead to measurable clean water outcomes for Ohio’s waterways. We are encouraged by the inclusion of certification of agricultural producers to access the funding, yet ultimately the program is still voluntary. We look forward to working with the administration in future years to develop more stringent requirements for the program.

We also applaud the Governor’s designation of some H2Ohio funds for water infrastructure investment in disadvantaged communities. Ohio communities face significant costs to replace and upgrade aging water and sewer infrastructure while maintaining health and environmental quality. As our recently released report found, water affordability of basic water and sewer services impacts Ohioans across the state in both urban and rural areas. This funding is a step in the right direction to help low-income families afford these basic services.”

For more information or to schedule an interview with Crystal Davis, contact Jennifer Caddick, (312) 445-9760 or jcaddick@greatlakes.org

The post Alliance for the Great Lakes Statement on Gov. Dewine’s Announcement of the H2Ohio Implementation Plan appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.