RCAP Submits Comments on EPA’s Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI)
Since 1973, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) Incorporated has helped build capacity for and facilitated access to the most basic necessities in rural communities: clean, safe, and affordable drinking water and wastewater services. RCAP uses a locally driven approach in every state and territory to address various needs in rural and tribal communities, driven by a network of regional non-profit partners, who provide hands-on technical assistance under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and conduct in-person training on a variety of technical and regulatory topics as it relates to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal.
RCAP commends EPA throughout the last two decades for making updates to the regulation, for its focus on developing a better understanding of the challenging health effects of lead and copper on human health, and for modernizing the rule to match the demands of the 21st Century.
RCAP believes these improvements are a crucial step forward in safeguarding public health and addressing environmental concerns. The proposed enhancements underscore the agency’s commitment to ensuring the safety of our drinking water by imposing enhanced regulations like reducing the action level for lead in drinking water. By focusing on reducing the concentration of this harmful metal in our drinking water, EPA aims to protect vulnerable populations, especially children and pregnant women, from the adverse health effects associated with lead exposure. The proposed improvements also include measures to speed up the replacement of lead pipes and enhance water monitoring and testing protocols.