The Complete Guide to the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)

What is the Revised Lead and Copper Rule?

Issued on December 16, 2021, the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) strengthen the existing Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) by:

• Improving lead sampling and corrosion control
  

• Expanding public education and customer outreach
  

• Starting lead testing in schools and childcare facilities
  

• Requiring a public inventory of lead service lines 
  

• Initiating more lead service line replacements
  

Let’s take a moment to define some key terms before we examine the Lead and Copper Rule, its revisions, and upcoming improvements in more detail.

What are the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)?

The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) introduce three new major requirements for public water systems:

1. Testing in schools and childcare facilities

2. Comprehensive and publicly available Lead Service Line inventories

3. A “trigger level” for lead sampling to initiate mitigation at lower lead levels.

Additionally, the LCRR strengthens existing measures, including corrosion control treatment, lead service line replacement, lead sampling, customer outreach, and public education.

The EPA implemented the LCRR on December 16, 2021, and the first compliance date is October 16, 2024. 

What are the LCRR’s requirements?

As we mentioned earlier, there’s a key difference between the LCRR and LCR: the recent revisions focus on getting the lead out of communities instead of merely monitoring and minimizing the impact of existing lead pipes.

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The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions:

• Require water systems to test drinking water at schools and childcare facilities to protect children, the most at-risk demographic
  

• Mandate a public LSL inventory of all service lines in a water system and incentivize thorough documentation and inspections by counting “lead status unknown” and “galvanized in need of replacement” within the tally of LSLs
  

• Improve the reliability of lead sampling by specifying how samples must be collected and changing the collection process
  

• Implement a “find-and-fix” requirement to better identify and mitigate high lead levels at individual homes
  

• Retain the lead “action level” of 15 µg/liter while adding a “trigger level” of 10 µg/liter
  

• Better protect the public and jumpstart LSLR through more robust education and community awareness
  

• Replace the 7% annual LSLR rate with a 3% annual LSLR rate, apply this rate to the “action level” exceedance, extend this program period from a minimum of 1 to 2 years, and leave it up to states to determine the replacement rate when the “trigger level” is exceeded 
  

• Require full LSLR for documented replacements, mandate full LSLR if a customer is replacing their portion of the LSL, and close loopholes used to delay, avoid, or “test-out” of service line replacements
  

• Strengthen CCT requirements through treatment re-optimization, studies, and flexible solutions for small water systems
  

In the end, the EPA describes these revisions as “a proactive, holistic approach to more aggressively manage lead in drinking water.”

For more on the LCRR’s requirements, check out our Quick Reference Guide exploring the differences between the LCR, LCRR, and LCRI.

How will the LCRR affect water quality?

At the heart of the EPA’s requirements is full LSLR.

The EPA advocates transparency, accuracy, and communication to ensure more customers understand the risks associated with LSLs and demand replacement. Over the next 35 years, the EPA estimates community awareness and LSL inventories alone could drive the replacement of between 213,500 and 350,000 LSLs. And when all of the revisions are taken into account, the EPA anticipates a total of 339,000 to 555,000 LSLRs in this 35-year period. Funding from the EPA’s State Revolving Fund could support 150,000 of these LSLRs.

These are significant gains when compared to the limited service line replacements under the previous LCR.

Nevertheless, the LCRR is a controversial piece of regulation. It’s valuable to review the LCRR’s rocky implementation to understand where the revisions fall short and what lies ahead in the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

Why did the LCRR compliance dates change?

It’s easy to be confused by the EPA’s multiple rulings in 2021 and the shifting compliance and implementation dates of the LCRR, but these changes are critical to understanding LCRI.

Ultimately, 2021’s delays reveal the LCRI was born from a web of regulatory, political, and economic pressures.

While the LCRR’s been in development for decades - the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump policies, focus on marginalized communities, and historic infrastructure funding bills have transformed the future of the Lead and Copper Rule.

Let’s unpack this context:

• 2018: The White House includes the LCRR as a key objective in a federal action plan focused on protecting children from lead. Already, the EPA has gathered feedback on revisions for over a decade.
  

• 2019: The EPA publishes a draft of the LCRR to receive input from stakeholders.
  

• January 15, 2021: The EPA officially implements the LCRR and sets January 15, 2024 as the initial compliance date. This follows guidance in the SWDA that compliance should be scheduled three years after implementation to provide water systems and states enough time to comply.
  

• January 25, 2021: The Biden-Harris White House issues Executive Order 13990, which requires federal agencies - like the EPA - to assess whether rules developed under the previous administration sufficiently listen to science, protect the environment, and safeguard public health. As a result, the EPA must review 48 of its rules, including the LCRR.
  

• March 12, 2021: Because of Executive Order 13990, the EPA delays implementation of the LCRR until June 16, 2021, and requests comment on whether the rule should be further delayed until December 16, 2021. Delaying until December provides an opportunity to seek public feedback on the rule from communities that are directly impacted by lead.
  

• March 31, 2021: The White House releases the American Jobs Plan, which proposes to replace all lead pipes and service lines throughout the country with $111 billion in EPA State Revolving Funds, Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) grants, and other low-cost flexible loans and grants.
  

• June 16, 2021: The EPA officially extends the LCRR’s implementation date to December, and confirms the new compliance date is October 16, 2024. The EPA also schedules public engagements to ensure the LCRR adequately protects public health. In feedback the EPA received following the March rule, the majority of stakeholders agreed with this extension and raised concerns with LCRR requirements.
  

• April to August, 2021: The EPA organizes public hearings, requests for comment, and meetings with various stakeholders. This includes conversations with tribal leaders and communities disproportionately impacted by lead - especially communities of color and lower-income residents.
  

• November 15, 2021: President Biden signs the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act into law, setting aside $55 billion to improve access to clean drinking water. Specifically, the law invests $15 billion for LSL identification and replacement over the next five years.
  

• December 16, 2021: Arguing the LCRR is an important step forward, the EPA decides to re-implement the rule and keep with the compliance date of October 16, 2024. However, they acknowledge shortcomings in the LCRR and announce a host of non-regulatory actions along with improvements to the rule. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) will be implemented prior to the initial compliance date in 2024.
  

• December 16, 2021: The White House announces a plan to replace all the lead pipes in the U.S. in the next decade through the American Rescue Plan, the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the not-yet-passed Build Back Better Act, and coordination between federal agencies. This plan cements lead pipe replacement as a key priority for the Biden-Harris administration.
  

In 2021, there was a perfect storm: historic water regulation hit political realignment and a national debate on U.S. infrastructure. Now, the LCRR is one piece in a broader strategy to transform U.S. water infrastructure and get the lead out of communities.

Significantly, the Lead and Copper Rule will be revised again - this time within three years, not three decades.‍

Why is the EPA improving the LCRR? What’s wrong with it?

The LCRR’s always been controversial.

In fact, the revisions were challenged in court when initially implemented in January. The LCRR may be a major step forward - especially when compared to 1991’s LCR - but the EPA acknowledges more needs to be done.

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The EPA summarizes critical feedback on the revisions throughout its rulings in 2021. It’s valuable to explore the top ten most common criticisms of the LCRR in these documents:

1. Partial LSLR: Though the LCRR doesn’t count partial LSLR as an official replacement, it doesn’t do enough to encourage or require full LSLR.
   

2. Equitable LSLR: Lower-income homeowners in the communities most affected by lead can’t afford LSLR, and there aren’t adequate resources in place to support them. To meet annual replacement rates, water systems may be incentivized to replace service lines only for those who can afford it on the customer-side. This exacerbates existing inequities.
   

3. Lead Levels: The “trigger level” and “action level” aren’t low enough. They aren’t health-based measures, and they promote toxic lead levels. Also, the addition of the lead “trigger level” overly complicates the sampling and mitigation processes.
   

4. Annual LSLR Rate: The annual LSLR rate of 3% is lower than the original LCR’s 7% rate. The annual LSLR rate should be increased because replacing every lead pipe in the U.S. will take decades under the LCRR’s current rate.
   

5. Renters: The LCRR doesn’t address renters. If a landlord avoids the expense of a LSLR, this leaves renters exposed to lead pipes.
   

6. Underinvested Communities: If water systems replace LSLs encountered in routine work, this privileges communities where this work is completed - delaying LSLR in underinvested areas that need it most.
   

7. LSL Inventories: The LSL inventory requirement should include lead connectors, needs a deadline for LSL material identification, and doesn’t provide enough information to the public. On the other hand, these inventories also put too much pressure on water systems who will struggle to find the necessary information.
   

8. Small Water Systems: Too much flexibility is given to small water systems. At the same time, small water systems have limited resources and will struggle to meet the current requirements.
   

9. Customer Communication: The public education and notification requirements need streamlining to be feasible for water systems. Additionally, materials need to be accessible and include outreach to renters.
   

10. Child-Care & Schools: The coordination between water systems and child-care facilities and schools needs to be improved, these facilities need funding if they are going to support testing and mitigation, and the requirements for a water system’s lead sampling, public education, and mitigation measures at these sites aren’t robust enough.
    

With these criticisms in mind, the EPA has announced upcoming improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule along with non-regulatory actions intended to equitably protect public health.

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What non-regulatory actions is the EPA taking?

The EPA announced six non-regulatory actions to address stakeholder concerns and fulfill the White House’s ambitious clean water plan:

1. Equitable Funding: The EPA will use several funding resources - DSRF, WIFIA, WIIN - and billions of dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to issue grants for lead remediation. Notably, the EPA will collaborate with states, tribes, and other stakeholders to ensure small and disadvantaged communities get access to these funds.
   

2. Federal Collaboration: The EPA has limited authority over schools and childcare facilities that may not choose to participate in voluntary lead sampling and remediation. The EPA will collaborate with federal agencies and other partners to support these facilities with funding and other resources. 
   

3. Community Assistance: To protect disadvantaged communities, the EPA is partnering with states and tribes to improve oversight of CCT and lead sampling while providing technical assistance to areas that are disproportionately impacted by LSLs.
   

4. Community Awareness: The EPA will also provide guidance and templates to states, tribes, and water systems to improve communication on lead risks. Plus, they’ll begin revisions on the Consumer Confidence Report Rule, so the public is aware of CCT programs, when a water system exceeds an “action level,” and which mitigation measures are underway.
   

5. Water System Support: Since LSL inventories are one of the most challenging requirements in the LCRR for water systems, the EPA will offer guidance on creating these inventories and update the Safe Drinking Water Information System. This guidance will include best practices, case studies, templates, and information on data analytics and other methods.
   

6. Advocacy for Full LSLR: One of the primary criticisms of the LCRR is it does not require full LSLR. To remedy this, the EPA will discourage partial LSLR, support proactive full LSLR programs, and advocate for vulnerable communities. The EPA will offer resources on program development and methods (including tools, best practices, case studies, etc.) while continuing to connect people with available funding.
   

It remains to be seen whether these actions are intended to satisfy stakeholder concerns - with only minor revisions in the LCRI - or if the EPA plans more significant changes to the Lead and Copper Rule.

When viewed in light of other EPA documents, however, these non-regulatory actions do provide clues to potential requirements in the LCRI and help illuminate the future of water regulation in the U.S.