WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency announced a $2.9 billion disbursement for lead pipe replacement in drinking water systems and committed $1 billion to address drinking water contaminated by PFAS. This allocation represents the fifth and final annual disbursement under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
These funds were appropriated by Congress in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocated over $50 billion for water infrastructure over five years. Approximately $15 billion of these funds were designated for removing lead service lines from homes and businesses. The EPA distributed lead service line removal funds to states based on their proportion of lead pipes.
The Trump administration delayed the release of the $2.9 billion allocated for lead pipe replacement in 2025. The EPA released these funds following communications from Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi and six other Illinois lawmakers. According to the EPA, approximately 4 million active lead service lines are present across the United States.
EPA Assistant Administrator Jess Kramer said, "The Trump EPA is committed to tackling lead exposure." Kramer added, "The funds will help protect current and future generations across America by accelerating local efforts to find and replace toxic lead pipes."
Illinois contains approximately 1.5 million lead service lines and received about 10 percent of the federal lead pipe removal funds, which was the largest allocation among all 50 states. More than 400,000 of these lines in Illinois are in Chicago. Chicago building codes required lead service line connections for buildings constructed before 1986. Illinois will receive approximately $15 million less in federal lead pipe funding than initially projected due to congressional budget adjustments.
The EPA press office stated the agency "is following the law and disbursing funds appropriated by Congress." Federal regulations require most U.S. water utilities to remove all lead pipes by 2037. Chakena Sims, senior policy advocate at Natural Resources Defense Council, said, "If the federal government is serious about getting the lead out and modernizing the nation's aging water infrastructure, then it must sustain bipartisan infrastructure law investments and be committed to strengthening—not scaling back."