Trump administration to stand by tough Biden-era mandates to replace lead pipes [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 9:13 PM EST, February 20, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it backs a 10-year deadline for most cities and towns to replace their harmful lead pipes, giving notice that it will support a tough rule approved under the Biden administration to reduce lead in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court in Washington that it would defend the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in three decades against a court challenge by a utility industry association.

The Trump administration has typically favored rapid deregulation, including reducing or killing rules on air and water pollution. On Friday, for example, it repealed tight limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants. But the agency has taken a different approach to drinking water.

“After intensive stakeholder involvement, EPA concluded that the only way to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act’s mandate to prevent anticipated adverse health effects ‘to the extent feasible’ is to require replacement of lead service lines,” the agency’s court filing said.

Doing so by a 10-year deadline is feasible, the agency added, supporting a rule that was based in part of the finding that old rules that relied on chemical treatment and monitoring to reduce lead “failed to prevent system-wide lead contamination and widespread adverse health effects.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-lead-pipes-drinking-water-contamination-epa-6e1c7c45f1ba41ae69dfb13fa9510ef8

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This was so shocking that I did this -

45's gutted "EPA" (in quotes) has pushed for the deregulation and reintroduction of every other substance known to man that will kill people but "lead" somehow seemed to be some kind of "line in the sand" for them.

Maybe they want to corner a market for the retrieval of the old lead pipes and lead solder on discarded copper pipes so they can make their dreams come true!