The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $26 million in funding, including $368,000 allocated for Vermont, to protect children from lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities. This grant aims to reduce lead exposure where children learn and play while advancing the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration's Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.
"Every person, every child, deserves safe and clean drinking water. As students, staff, and teachers start returning to classrooms across New England, no one should have to worry whether the water their loved one drinks at school or daycare is safe," said EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "This funding for testing water taps at schools and childcare facilities will help ensure that every child in Vermont can learn and grow in an environment free from the dangers of lead exposure. Coupled with the historic $15 billion investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to identify and replace lead pipes, we're working together with our partners to protect the health of our communities and to ensure a future for all of our children that is safe and lead-free."
"In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, every Vermonter – especially our children – must be protected from exposure to dangerous toxins like lead in our drinking water systems. This federal funding will provide schools and childcare facilities throughout Vermont the opportunity to test for harmful lead in our drinking water, and help us protect young people across the state so our kids can grow, learn, and thrive here in Vermont," said the Vermont Congressional delegation.
In children, lead can severely harm mental and physical development, slowing down learning, and irreversibly damaging the brain. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer.
The funding was authorized by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act and is provided to 55 states, the District of Columbia, and participating territories as grants for lead testing and remediation in schools and childcare facilities. Since 2019, the Voluntary School and Childcare Lead Testing Reduction Grant has provided over $150 million in funding for testing and removing lead sources from drinking water in schools across the United States.
The grant program requires recipients to use three strategies—Training, Testing & Taking Action (3Ts)—to reduce lead levels in drinking water. The 3Ts Program provides resources for states, territories, Tribes to act on reducing children's exposure to lead.
EPA's Get the Lead Out (GLO) initiative also supports underserved communities nationwide by providing technical assistance needed to identify/remove lead service lines.
Background:
The Biden-Harris Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dedicated an unprecedented $15 billion towards removing lead from drinking water. This fund aids efforts under White House's Lead Pipe & Paint Action Plan encouraging governments at all levels use tools available delivering clean drinking-water replacing-lead-pipes-remediating-lead-paint making critical improvements where children spend significant time such as schools-childcare centers-family-care-centers-preschools-Head Start programs.
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