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Updated January 11, 2018
Regulating Lead in Drinking Water: Issues and Developments
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate
contaminants in public water supplies. EPA regulates lead
specifically through the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule (LCR;
40 C.F.R. Part 141 Subpart I). In the wake of detections of
elevated lead levels in tap water in Flint, Michigan, and
elsewhere, questions emerged regarding (1) the adequacy of
SDWA authorities, and (2) the effectiveness of the LCR in
limiting lead exposures and protecting public health.
Regulatory issues associated with the LCR include (1)
monitoring protocols, (2) public notification and reporting
requirements, (3) corrosion control to prevent lead in
plumbing materials from leaching into water, (4) lead
service line (LSL) replacement practices and costs, and (5)
overall implementation and enforcement of the rule. EPA is
working to update the LCR to address these and other
issues and respond to scientific and technological
advancements including improved corrosion control
practices and improved understanding of the health effects
of low-level lead exposures. The agency announced plans
to propose comprehensive revisions in August 2018.
Broader SDWA issues concern (1) the adequacy of state
agency resources to oversee the nation's 151,000 public
water systems and ensure compliance with EPA rules, (2)
the financial and technical capacity of systems
particularly smaller and lower-income communities to
comply with SDWA requirements, and (3) funding needed
to upgrade and replace aging drinking water infrastructure.
Implementation of the LCR emerged as an issue in Flint
and raised questions regarding federal and state roles under
the SDWA. Generally, the act is administered jointly by
EPA and the states. Among other duties, EPA promulgates
national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs) that
establish standards or treatment techniques to control
drinking water contaminants. Public water systems, both
publicly and privately owned, must comply with the
regulations (SDWA §1412; 42 U.S.C. §300g-1).
States generally have primary responsibility (primacy) for
enforcement and oversight of public water systems and
administration of the Public Water System Supervision
(PWSS) program (SDWA §1413; 42 U.S.C. §300g-2).
Primacy states or tribes adopt and enforce regulations at
least as stringent as EPA rules, provide technical assistance
to public water systems, conduct inspections of systems,
maintain records and compliance data, report to EPA, etc.
All states (except Wyoming and the District of Columbia)
and territories and Navajo Nation have primacy. EPA
directly oversees public water systems in non-primacy areas
and retains oversight of primacy states.
States receive annual grants from EPA to defray some
PWSS program administration costs. (SDWA §1443(a); 42
U.S.C. §300j-2(a)). The grants are used primarily to pay
agency salaries. States have sought more funding, noting an
annual funding gap of more than $300 million, the growing
complexity of SDWA requirements, and the challenges of
assisting numerous (mostly small) water systems. Congress
appropriated $101.8 million for PWSS grants for FY2017.
The President requested $71.2 million for FY2018.
The 1991 LCR (56 Federal Register 26460) is intended to
protect public health by limiting levels of these metals in
drinking water, primarily by reducing water corrosivity.
This rule replaced a lead standard of 50 micrograms per
liter (pg/L, or parts per billion) that was measured at the
water utility but not at the tap. The LCR does not include a
health-based standard (i.e., maximum contaminant level
[MCL]) as is often the case for NPWDRs. Instead, the rule
established a treatment technique that includes (1) corrosion
control treatment, (2) source water treatment, (3) LSL
replacement, and (4) public education. When developing
the rule, EPA determined that using an MCL at the tap (or
treatment plant) was not feasible, as lead levels are often
influenced by factors beyond the control of the water utility.
As with other SDWA regulations, federal, state, and often
local levels of government have responsibilities and roles
under the LCR. The role of public water systems (most are
publicly owned) broadly includes tap water monitoring,
reporting to the state, corrosion treatment, water quality
parameter monitoring, public notification, and lead service
line replacement (as needed). Further, water system
operators must deliver annual water quality compliance
reports to customers that include lead education
information. The state's role broadly includes providing
technical assistance, setting water quality parameter
monitoring requirements, overseeing each water system's
corrosion control treatment and LCR compliance, and
reporting to EPA. EPA provides technical assistance and
regulatory guidance to system operators and states, oversees
state implementation of the rule, and retains ultimate
enforcement responsibilities.
The LCR includes an action level of 15 ppb for lead (and
1,300 ppb for copper), based on the 90th percentile level of
tap water samples. Unlike an MCL, an action level is not a
health-based standard but, rather, a screening tool for
determining whether treatment technique actions are
required. The lead action level is based on the practical
feasibility of reducing lead through controlling corrosion.
An exceedance of the action level is not a violation of the
rule but can trigger other requirements. A water system
violates the LCR if it does not take the triggered actions.
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