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Final Lead Copper Rule Improvements
This is an update to the article titled “EPA Releases Proposed Lead Copper Rule Improvements in Drinking Water Regulation” dated April 2, 2024.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the Final Lead Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) in the Federal Register on October 30, 2024 (89 FR 86626). The LCRI was effective as of December 30, 2024. Community and non-community, non-transient water systems must comply with the requirements by November 1, 2027.
Key provisions of the LCRI include:
- Mandatory replacement of all lead service lines and galvanized requiring replacement service lines within 10 years of the compliance date unless an alternative schedule is established by the State
- Elimination of the lead trigger level and decrease of the lead action level
- Changes to the corrosion control requirements
- More clarity regarding lead and copper sampling in schools and childcare facilities; and
- Enhanced public education, notification, and outreach requirements
A summary of section-by-section requirements follow:
40 CFR 141.81 Applicability of corrosion control treatment steps to small, medium, and large water systems
All water systems are required to install, optimize, or re-optimize corrosion control treatment according to the provisions of this section. Actual steps to follow depend on system size, whether it currently has or does not have corrosion control treatment, and if the system has exceeded the lead or copper action levels.
- System size categories are established as:
- Small (serving ≤10,000)
- Medium (serving >10,000 to ≤50,000)
- Large (serving >50,000).
- Description of conditions for systems deemed to have optimized corrosion control
- Treatment steps and deadlines for water systems re-optimizing optimal corrosion control treatment. There are 8 steps to this process.
- Step 1: Initiate mandatory pipe rig/loop or CCT study or treatment recommendation for large or medium water systems with lead service lines and have exceeded the lead action level.
- Step 2: State may require CCT study or State may designate re-optimized OCCT for medium water systems without lead service lines or small systems that exceeded the lead or copper action levels.
- Step 3: Systems doing pipe rig/loop studies must complete them within 30 months of the lead action level exceedance; systems doing CCT studies must complete them within 18 months of lead or copper action level exceedance.
- Step 4: State must designate reoptimized OCCT based on Step 3 studies within 6 months of completion.
- Step 5: Systems must install re-optimized OCCT within one year of State designation.
- Step 6: Systems must complete two consecutive tap monitoring sampling periods following Step 5, starting on January 1 or July 1, whichever comes first.
- Step 7: State sets optimal water quality parameters (OWQPs) within 6 months of completion of the Step 6 monitoring.
- Step 8: Systems meet OWQPs to demonstrate compliance.
- Treatment steps and deadlines for systems without corrosion control treatment.
- This section includes the same 8 steps as for systems re-optimizing optimal corrosion control, but is for systems doing corrosion control for the first time
- The rule includes provisions for water systems to avoid completing corrosion control steps or adding corrosion control if they can complete replacement of all lead or galvanized requiring replacement service lines within five years of the compliance date.
- Systems are required to notify the State when there is a change in source water or a significant change in treatment processes. Systems must get approval from the State before distributing finished water from new sources or that have gone through a treatment change.
40 FR §141.82 Description of corrosion control treatment requirements
Systems must complete the CCT studies and installation requirements under 40 CFR §141.81. In the studies the systems must evaluate the following treatments or combinations thereof.
- Alkalinity and pH adjustment;
- Addition of an orthophosphate- or silicate-based corrosion inhibitor at an effective residual concentration;
- Addition of an orthophosphate-based corrosion inhibitor to achieve a residual concentration of 1 mg/L;
- Addition of an orthophosphate-based corrosion inhibitor to achieve a residual concentration of 3 mg/L.
In addition systems must monitor for the following water quality parameters:
- Lead;
- Copper;
- pH;
- Alkalinity;
- Orthophosphate if an orthophosphate-based corrosion inhibitor is used; or
- Silicate if a silicate-based corrosion inhibitor is used.
Systems must evaluate the impacts of these different treatments on other drinking water treatment processes.
After data evaluation, systems must recommend OCCT to the state, including the rationale for the recommendation.
The State must then continue with steps 4 through 8, as applicable.
There are also provisions for modification of State treatment decisions; treatment decisions by EPA in lieu of the State; and distribution system and site assessment for tap sample sites with lead results that exceed 0.010 mg/L.
40 CFR 141.84 Service line inventory and replacement requirements
- This section continues the requirement from the proposed rule for water systems to complete initial service line inventories and submit them to the state by October 16, 2024.
- Systems must also complete a baseline inventory, to update the initial inventory and submit by November 1, 2027.
- Baseline inventories must include connectors and service lines
- Connectors to be categorized as “Lead”, “Non-Lead”, “Unknown”, and “No connector present”.
- Service lines to be categorized as “Lead”, “Galvanized Requiring Replacement”, “Non-Lead”, and “Lead Status Unknown
- Requires that the inventories be updated annually starting one year after November 1, 2027 (i.e. the compliance date) and that they be publicly accessible.
- All lines categorized as “Lead Status Unknown” should be validated as “Non-Lead” (if they are found to be so through further inventory evaluations) by December 31 following 7 years after the compliance date using a validation pool described in 40 CFR 141.84 (b)(5)(ii) and Table 1 to Paragraph (b)(5)(ii).
- This section also includes the requirement to remove all lead service lines and galvanized requiring replacement service lines within 10 years of the compliance date (by November 1, 2037), unless it can be completed sooner.
- Systems must create a lead service line replacement plan, make it publicly accessible, and update as further evaluations demonstrate.
- Demonstrate removal of at least 10% of all lines requiring replacement per year based on a 3-year rolling average.
- There is an emphasis on “full-service line replacements” (i.e. both system owned and privately-owned portions) and under what circumstances “partial service line replacements” (i.e. system owned portion) would be acceptable.
- If a customer replaces their portion (i.e. private portion) of the service line and informs the system, the system must replace the system owned portion within 45 days of the private portion replacement.
- There is also discussion on what constitutes sufficient effort to contact customers regarding service line replacements.
40 CFR 141.85 Public education and supplemental monitoring and mitigation requirements
A system that exceeds the lead action level is required to distribute public education materials using the delivery methods outlined in this section. They are also required to offer to test samples of water from consumers with lead service lines or galvanized requiring replacement service lines, upon request, and provide them with the sample results. Systems are also required to offer testing for customers with lead service lines or galvanized requiring replacement service lines and provide them with the sample results.
Public education materials, including revised lead health effects language including the statement that “There is no safe level of lead in drinking water.” must also be provided to customers with lead service lines or galvanized requiring replacement service lines. Water systems must also conduct outreach activities where the system fails to meet the lead service line replacement rate. The water system must provide notification of sampling results to persons at locations where sampling was conducted within three business days of receiving the results.
40 CFR §141.86 Monitoring requirements for lead and copper in tap water
All water systems must sample for lead and copper at taps used for human consumption. This section describes criteria for the selection of sampling locations, number of sampling locations, sampling procedures, and criteria for reduced monitoring. Systems with lead service lines will be required to collect first and fifth liter tap samples and use the higher of the two results for determining compliance.
40 CFR §141.87 Monitoring requirements for water quality parameters
This section includes the procedures for monitoring water quality parameters in large and medium sized water systems with corrosion control treatment, and small and medium sized water systems that exceed the lead or copper action level. This includes sampling in the distribution system and at the entry point to the distribution system. It addresses the parameters to be monitored, number of samples required, and criteria for selection of sampling locations.
40 CFR §141.88 Monitoring requirements for lead and copper in source water
Unchanged
40 CFR §141.89 Analytical methods
Unchanged
40 CFR §141.90 Reporting requirements
This section describes the rule provisions that water systems must report to the States. They include the following:
- The results of tap water monitoring for lead and copper;
- The results of distribution system and entry point monitoring for water quality parameters;
- The results of source water monitoring;
- Service line inventory and service line replacement requirements;
- A description of the public education program;
- Reporting of additional monitoring data;
- Reporting of 90th percentile lead and copper concentrations where the State calculates a water system’s 90th percentile concentrations; and
- Description of a community water system’s public education program and sampling in schools and child care facilities.
40 CFR §141.91 Recordkeeping requirements
Unchanged
40 CFR §141.92 Monitoring for lead in schools and child care facilities
All community water systems must conduct public education and lead monitoring in schools and child care facilities in their service area. This starts with preparing a list of all served facilities. Starting in the first year after the compliance date, and at least once every year after, the water system must contact the schools and child care facilities and notify them they are eligible to be sampled for lead by the water system. The notice should propose a schedule for sampling the facility and should provide information about sampling for lead at schools and child care facilities. References to EPA prepared documents are provided. Also, all secondary schools should be notified that they are eligible to be sampled on request.
Frequency of sampling:
- During the first five years after the compliance date, 20% of elementary schools and 20% of child care facilities should be sampled per year so that all facilities within the water system service area are sampled.
- The water system shall sample at secondary schools upon request. The water system is not required to sample more than 20% of all secondary schools within the service area per year, during the first five years after the compliance date
Lead sampling protocol for schools and child care facilities:
- Water systems must collect five samples per school and two samples from child care facilities as follows:
- Schools:
- Two drinking water fountains;
- One kitchen faucet used for cooking or human consumption;
- One classroom faucet or other outlet used for human consumption;
- One nurse’s office faucet.
- Child care facilities:
- One drinking water fountain;
- One kitchen faucet, classroom faucet, or other outlet used for human consumption.
- Sampling protocol
- Collect samples from cold water tap;
- Each sample should be first draw sample;
- The sample must be 250 ml in volume;
- The water should have remained stationary in the plumbing system for at least 8 hours, but not more than 18 hours;
- Samples be analyzed using appropriate methods.
- Schools and child care facilities should be notified of the results of the sampling as soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days after receipt of the results.
- If water systems sampled for lead in schools under a State or local program using appropriate protocol and methods they may be eligible for a waiver for monitoring under the LCRI.
- Schools:
40 CFR §141.92 Monitoring for lead in schools and child care facilities
This section includes options available to systems serving <3,300 persons and all non-transient non-community water systems for compliance with the rule. This includes options related to corrosion control treatment, and alternative compliance options such as point-of-use devices, and replacement of lead-bearing plumbing.
Additional requirements
There are also new provisions under §141.153 (Content of the reports), §141.154 (Required additional health information) and revisions to Appendix A to Subpart O of Part 141 – Regulated Contaminants, Appendix A to Subpart Q of Part 141 – NPDWR Violations and Other Situations Requiring Public Notice, Appendix B to Subpart Q of Part 141 – Standard Health Effects Language for Public Notification.
Remember my favorite statement when it comes to compliance with rules, “The devil is in the details.” So I strongly encourage you to review the rule.
A copy of the Federal Register can be found at 2024-23549.pdf.
Supporting materials and documents can be found at Lead and Copper Rule Improvements: Supporting Materials | US EPA.
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About The Author
At NJBSoft, we’re proud to collaborate with experts like Robert Hollander, P.E., whose extensive experience in water quality and regulatory compliance allows us to design SAMS in order to meet industry needs. Bob’s leadership and deep industry knowledge supports utilities in staying organized, compliant, and focused on protecting public health every day.
Robert Hollander
- 45 years of experience in water quality, regulatory compliance, and utility management
- President of Hollander Consulting Services
- Held senior roles at the City of Peoria, City of Phoenix, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
- Served as President of the AZ Water Association and the Western Coalition of Arid States
- Licensed Professional Engineer in Arizona with multiple Grade 3 operator certifications
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