The risk posed by lead in drinking water demands increased investment in water infrastructure and faster action on proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), lawmakers said during an April 13 joint hearing of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The panel of witnesses at the hearing featured EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Joel Beauvais, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Keith Creagh, and several public health and water utility officials. Beauvais’ testimony detailed EPA’s actions in response to Flint and reiterated the agency’s plans to propose revisions to the LCR in 2017.
During the hearing Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told Beauvais that 2017 is “a long way’s off” and that the agency should try to propose the rule revisions “maybe earlier than” next year. Several other lawmakers, including Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), expressed support for boosting investment in water infrastructure as a way to prevent the Flint crisis from being replicated in another community.