Colorado receives federal grant to remove lead pipes from childcare facilities
(UI) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 announced $835,000 in grant funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to protect children from lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities across the state of Colorado.
Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), activities that remove sources of lead in drinking water are now, for the first time, eligible to receive funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN). This grant funding, which is provided to states, territories, and Tribes, is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan to deliver clean water for all communities, especially historically marginalized and low-income communities.
As a part of the $58,000,000 in appropriations for this program, the EPA also released a revised grant implementation document that contains detailed information on how the EPA will award and administer grants that support eligible actions, such as those for remediation or replacement activities.
The Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program funds voluntary lead testing, compliance monitoring, and for the first-time, lead in drinking water remediation projects. Lead remediation actions may include but are not limited to the removal, installation, and replacement of lead pipes or lead connectors and other lead-free apparatus related to drinking water.
The EPA intends to propose requirements that, along with other actions, would result in the replacement of all lead service lines as quickly as is feasible. The EPA is also investing $15 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to remove lead service lines. In addition to the dedicated funding for lead service line removal, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides another $11.7 billion in general funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that can also be utilized for lead removal projects.
The funding announcement follows several similar awards granted by the EPA in states such as South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and Montana.
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