State paused lead pipe replacement program because of EPA delay, Healey says
The state has paused a grant program that gives money to municipalities and water systems to identify and remove lead pipes, after the federal government delayed funds for the purpose, the Governor's Office said Wednesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency was set to issue funds intended to help replace lead pipes, and the state was supposed to identify and monitor projects around the commonwealth. But the agency delayed an announcement about new grants, while also failing to offer a timeline for when it will distribute the funds, Healey's office said Thursday.
"The Trump administration fails to understand the importance of supporting local projects to get lead out of our drinking water," Healey said in a statement.
The EPA said it will issue an update on the funds soon. In a statement Thursday, the EPA said it is "actively working" on the allotments from the fund going towards lead pipe replacement projects for the 2025 fiscal year, and it "anticipates announcing them in the next few weeks."
Lead pipe replacement projects ensure residents are not drawing tainted drinking water from old water systems and also bring construction jobs to the state, the statement from the Governor's Office said.
In her statement, Deborah Goldberg, the state's treasurer who also chairs the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, said the delay put families and children at risk.
"These resources are essential to addressing a serious public health crisis," Goldberg said.
Massachusetts has distributed $102 million across the state to update water systems through its Lead Service Line Identification and Replacement Planning Grant Program. The program was to help water systems and municipalities across the state comply with federal rules surrounding lead lines.
Last year, the EPA under the Biden administration set a deadline to have all lead water lines replaced in the state within 10 years.
The delay in funds will result in a delay in that effort, according to the Governor's Office.
Across the state, the grants had helped pay for 70 inventories, and an additional 84 were almost done. Operators of water systems that contained lead service lines are expected to apply for replacement projects soon, according to the Governor's Office.
The EPA did not immediately comment.
In March, state officials decried the EPA's decision to delay $50 million set to go to the state to address lead pipes. The funds were held back, so the awards could be reviewed by the Trump administration.
The delay in lead pipe replacement funds won't affect the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, said spokesperson Jaimye Bartak, as it finished replacing the known lead service lines in its system two decades ago.
To comply with the new rule surrounding lead pipe in drinking water systems, the commission completed an inventory of its system last year, Bartak wrote in an email. Out of 45,000 service lines, it needs to replace 16 service lines made out of galvanized steel.
"We are in regular contact with the final 16 property owners about the need for replacement," Bartak wrote. "All to say we are not impacted by the delay of funds."
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