The Biden administration announced major federal funding for water infrastructure projects around the country.
Douglas Cantor, an expert on water politics and policy and a member of the Rutgers University Department of Political Science, is available to speak to the news. To arrange interviews, contact Professor Cantor at dougcant@rutgers.edu or Megan Schumann at megan.schumann@rutgers.edu
“Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced almost $6 billion for Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure,” said Cantor. “According to the administration, the funds will help supplement a variety of water infrastructure projects; however, they will also serve to supplement $15 billion allocated from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill for replacing lead service lines in U.S. drinking water. The administration claims that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will announce additional funds for lead service line replacement later this year. The announcement of more funds is an interesting development in federal initiatives to replace lead service lines, as several organizations, such as the National Resources Defense Council, have constructively criticized funding arrangements in the original project announcement from last year. Interestingly, the official announcement was made by Vice President Kamala Harris at a community center in Pittsburgh that became a focal point for Pittsburgh’s lead crisis in the late 2010s.”
