LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday a revision of federal funding allocation for removing lead lines in the U.S. which will now boost funding to replace Michigan’s lead lines. 

Michigan’s funding would jump 5% from last year’s funding at nearly $69.5 million to roughly $73 million this year. 

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“Every community deserves access to safe, clean drinking water,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in an announcement. “Thanks to President Biden’s historic infrastructure investments in America, we have an unprecedented opportunity to revitalize America’s drinking water systems, support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of removing 100% of lead pipes across our country, and protect communities from PFAS pollution.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, reported that Michigan received $151 per lead service line, compared with other states estimated to have fewer lines that received as much as $6,303 a line in Nevada, $7,441 in Alaska, or $10,098 in Hawaii. 

Rather than simply relying on a 2015 survey states’ overall water infrastructure needs, the EPA’s new funding formula considers information from the latest survey regarding water infrastructure needs, which includes estimates from states about the number of lead lines in service. 

“EPA’s changes will ensure a fairer and more equitable distribution of funding dollars to replace the nation’s millions of lead pipes,” Cyndi Roper, a senior policy advocate in East Lansing for the NRDC who worked on last year’s study said. 

Based on the latest survey, which collected data during the calendar year 2021, EPA estimated that there are 9.2 million lead service lines in cities and towns across the country, including 301,790 in Michigan, which accounts for roughly 3% of the nationwide total.

The $73 million for Michigan to facilitate lead service line removal is a portion of $149.6 million allocated by EPA to Michigan for drinking water improvements in FY23 alone. 

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The survey also reveals that Michigan is behind ten other states that have more lead service lines including Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

Earlier this year, the city of Flint, one of the most well known cities in the state and country for having lead pipe contamination, had its sixth year of passing state lead levels in water samples.