Boston's top officials are raising their voices against a recent move by the EPA that slashes the state's funding for replacing lead water pipes, a move they say could leave local residents high and dry. According to a press release from the Massachusetts Governor's office, Governor Maura Healey, joined by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, submitted a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan to plead for a rollback of the new grant formula that has cut their funding by over $30 million.
In 2022, Massachusetts was riding high on $65,783,000 in lead service line replacement funds. But the EPA's recalculations have seen fit to almost halve this amount to a mere $33,700,000 for 2023 and beyond. Governor Healey remarked, "The historic federal investments made possible by President Biden and our congressional delegation have been instrumental in these efforts, and we ask the Environmental Protection Agency to provide us the resources so we can together continue advancing this important work." The funding in question plays a crucial role in removing lead service lines so that communities across the state have access to safer drinking water, as reported by Mass.gov.
The officials highlighted how lead contamination disproportionately strikes historically marginalized populations, posing environmental justice issues. "Contamination from lead pipes disproportionately hurts our historically marginalized populations and environmental justice communities," Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll told the press. The Governor's Office points out that the EPA's new data seems to overlook critical state-specific factors, such as the high percentage of older housing in Massachusetts that is more likely to have lead service lines.
Attorney General Campbell criticized the reduced funds, stating, "I am grateful to partner with Governor Healey, Treasurer Goldberg, and Secretary Tepper in calling on the EPA to swiftly restore Massachusetts’s lead service line funding to prior levels so we can replace these pipes with the urgency our residents deserve." Evidently, there's a feeling among state leaders that the EPA should go back to the drawing board and rethink its grant formulas to ensure vital resources for maintaining safe drinking water aren't lost.
Even amidst the funding turbulence, Massachusetts aims to secure a $5.76 million reallocation from the EPA, thanks to a reshuffling of the agency's funds. This move, though welcomed, remains a "small step" towards mending the gaping hole left by the new allocation rules. The state's federal delegation has reportedly been pushing for a recalculation of the EPA's methodology, having expressed their concerns back in September. With urgent calls for the EPA to reconsider, it seems the state is standing its ground in a bid to keep the tap of federal funding flowing freely for its critical water safety projects.
