Attorneys representing 13 blue states and Washington, D.C., expressed concern to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its rule “does too little to protect public health generally and specifically to address the disparate impacts of lead-contaminated drinking water on underserved communities.”

They pointed to a carve-out that allows for cities with large numbers of lead water lines to exceed the proposal’s general 10-year time frame for removing lead pipes.

They wrote that under the rule, its lead service line replacements could take 44.6 years in Chicago and 33.1 years in Houston.

The attorneys wrote that after the first decade, the maximum number of lead lines that need to be replaced should double.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

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