Big Month for Lead: What Happened in October

by Sarah Goodwin

Every year, October is home to National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which always offers a plethora of options for events, webinars, and announcements related to lead poisoning. And this year, we saw the whole month pile up with actions from our federal agencies that represent new strides in lead poisoning prevention, including groundbreaking regulations and record-breaking funding announcements. If, like us, you’re also stumbling into November feeling a bit blown-sideways by all the changes, we’ve put together a quick summary here of everything that happened in October.

EPA: Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (October 8)

On October 8, EPA released their final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) rule change. The LCRI requires drinking water systems to replace all of their lead service lines within 10 years. This is the first time the federal government has required lead service line replacement at this scale. Especially when paired with the funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), this means that LSL replacement efforts across the country will continue to speed up.

• The LCRI not only mandates replacement of LSLs but sets requirements on how water systems must make and share a replacement plan. In addition to the replacement requirement, the LCRI changes include the following actions:
• Lowering the action level for lead in drinking water from 15 µg/dL to 10 µg/dL.

Strengthening requirements around water sampling, community notification and education, and actions taken after the action level is exceeded.

This rule goes into effect on December 30, 2024, and water systems must comply by November 1, 2027. For more information on the changes to the public education requirements and implications for public health agencies, see our blog from September, “Changes to the Lead and Copper Rule: What Should Public Health Expect?”

HUD: Over $420 Million in Lead Hazard Control Grants (October 8)

In what we’re pretty sure is their largest single grant funding announcement ever, the HUD Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) announced over $420 million in grant funds on October 8. This included $408 million for lead hazard control (including $13 million under the newer capacity building program), $10 million for lead and healthy homes technical studies, and $2 million for healthy homes and weatherization cooperation demonstration grants.

The grants were awarded to communities in 32 states, DC, and Puerto Rico.

EPA: Dust Lead Standards and Levels (October 23)

On October 23, EPA finalized their new rule regulating levels of lead-based paint hazards. Under this rule change, the dust-lead reportable level (previously known as the dust-lead hazard standard) went from 10 µd/ft² for floors and 100 µd/ft² for windowsills to any reportable level analyzed by a recognized laboratory, and the dust-lead action level (previously known as the dust-lead clearance level) is now set at 5 µd/ft² for floors, 40 µd/ft² for sills, and 100 µd/ft² for window troughs. What this now means is that EPA will recommend abatement at or above these new dust-lead action levels.

The rule goes into effect 60 days after publication. The compliance dates for the new levels, and the new abatement report language also provided in the rule, are one year after the effective date.

EPA will hold a webinar on the provisions in the new rule on December 5, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET. Register here.

For more information on the details of the changes in the rule, see this explainer from NCHH.

CDC: Lead Detect Prize Round 2 (October 24)

CDC is hosting a $1 million challenge for development of better blood lead testing technology. On October 24, the five participants in phase two of the challenge were presented at a Demo Day showcase, and prizes were awarded to the first-, second-, and third-place winners. You can read about the winners and the products and technologies they are developing here.

But Let’s Not Forget About September

It fell in the ninth month, not the 10th, but we can’t forget about USAID and UNICEF, who got a head start on the autumnal excitement in launching the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future on September 23. This new partnership includes a $150 million commitment from participants towards eliminating childhood lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countries.

Also, right at the end of September, we published an update to our review of public data that tracks how ARPA funds are being used to make homes healthier. The ARPA funds represent huge investments in this work at the state and local levels and include $409.9 million budgeted for lead service line replacement and $388.9 million budgeted for lead poisoning prevention, among many other projects addressing things like home repair, drinking water quality, weatherization, and school environments. You can read more here.

More to Come

The forward momentum isn’t stopping just because the month ended. In addition to further developments and implementation actions for all of the items we listed above, we’re keeping an eye on several other upcoming opportunities in November and beyond:

HUD opened a Request for Information for public comment on the possibility of shifting the majority of funding for lead hazard control from competitive to formula grants. We discussed this proposal briefly in our appropriations update blogs over the summer and are excited to see HUD offer this opportunity for communities to weigh in. We strongly encourage everyone to consider making a public comment. Comments are due on November 15, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

You may remember that the Inflation Reduction Act allocated significant funds to environmental justice work through EPA. One of the avenues that EPA is using to distribute those funds is the Thriving Communities Grantmaking program, where EPA selected grantmakers at the regional and national levels who will be making awards to community-based organizations and other eligible recipients. Some of these grantmakers have started to roll out their information and grant applications. We’re tracking these as they come out and will continue providing updates.