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The Trump administration on Thursday proposed new regulations on lead and copper in drinking water, updating a nearly 30-year-old rule that may have contributed to the lead-tainted water crisis in Flint, Mich., that began in 2015. The draft plan, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Andrew Wheeler, at a news conference in Green Bay, Wis., includes some provisions designed to strengthen oversight of lead in drinking water. But it skips a pricey safety proposal advocated by public health groups and water utilities: the immediate replacement of six million lead pipes that connect homes to main water pipes. The proposed new rule would also more than double the amount of time allotted to replace lead pipes in water systems that contain high levels of lead. (Davenport, 10/10)

Contrary to regulatory rollbacks in many other environmental areas, the administration has called dealing with lead contamination in drinking water a priority. Communities and families in Flint, Michigan, Newark, New Jersey, and elsewhere have had to grapple with high levels of lead in tap water and with regulatory failures dealing with the health threat. Lead in drinking water has been linked to developmental delays in children and can damage the brain, red blood cells and kidneys. It is most often caused by lead service lines — pipes connecting a home to a water main — or lead fixtures in a home or school. (Knickmeyer, 10/10)

The EPA’s revamped rule, which has been in the works since 2010, is meant to provide what the agency called a “proactive and holistic approach” to more reliably identify elevated lead levels across 68,000 public water systems and to force utilities to tackle problems faster. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler called the proposal “a major milestone” in a news conference Thursday afternoon in Wisconsin. (Dennis, 10/10)

In communities that exceed the federal action level of 15 parts per billion of lead in water, utilities would have to replace a minimum of 3% of lead service lines annually, down from a requirement of 7%. That will give utilities about 33 years to replace lead pipes in their systems, up from a current pace of about 13 years, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which represents residents and community groups against Flint, Mich., over its lead crisis from 2014 and 2015. (Puko, 10/10)

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy proposed a $500 million bond initiative to replace aging water infrastructure as part of a statewide plan to protect residents from potential lead contamination. The governor called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow residents to vote on the bond package in a 2020 ballot initiative. Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, also said he wants to replace all of the state’s lead service lines, which can leach lead into drinking water, over the next decade. (De Avila, 10/10)