Proposed Rollback of Lead Pipe Regulations Threatens Health of Atlanta Communities

Republican lawmakers are seeking to end a Biden administration mandate that local governments and water utilities identify and replace lead pipes nationwide, potentially obstructing efforts being made in metro Atlanta. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) aim to eliminate toxic pipes in the U.S. within the next 10 years. Following this mandate, areas like DeKalb and Fulton counties discovered that the makeup of thousands of pipes in their communities is unknown. Republican U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia introduced a joint resolution to the House of Representatives last month that insists that Congress “disapproves” of the mandate and that it “shall have no force or effect.” The same resolution was introduced in January by U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, a Republican lawmaker from Alabama, but it needed to be reintroduced for procedural reasons. If the LCRI are revoked, the decision to investigate the pipes of unknown material would be at the discretion of local governments and utilities, according to Sara Lips, spokesperson for Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division. Some advocates worry that without the LCRI, local governments will not prioritize efforts to address lead contamination, which studies have shown is more likely to harm Black communities nationwide. “These pipes have been...