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The report, "No Excuses, NYC: Replace Lead Drinking Water Pipes Now," estimates that one in five New Yorkers may be drinking water transported through lead service lines.
Press Release July 18, 2023

Report: An Estimated One in Five New Yorkers May Be Drinking Water from Lead Service Lines

Staggering borough and neighborhood lead line data show urgency to act

Press Release January 27, 2023

Earthjustice Applauds Formation of White House and EPA Lead Service Line Replacement Partnership

As many as 22 million people drink water from lead

Press Release December 9, 2022

EPA to Reconsider Stronger Rules for Lead in Drinking Water

Agency asks court to allow revisions and new rulemaking for the Lead and Copper Rule

Document December 9, 2022

Opening Brief – LCR Challenge, UPAL et al

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a court motion for remand to revisit and reassess the revisions it made to the Lead and Copper Rule during the Trump Administration. The Lead and Copper rule, or LCR, regulates the control and monitoring of lead in drinking water. The EPA is asking for the remand in response to a challenge brought by Earthjustice a on behalf of civil rights and environmental groups, for not protecting children’s health and the safety of the drinking water that millions of people living in the United States rely on. There were additional challenges filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and 9 state Attorneys General and the District of Columbia.

Document December 9, 2022

State AGs LCR Challenge

Challenge to the Lead and Copper Rule submitted by Attorneys General from 9 states and the District of Columbia

Document December 9, 2022

EPA's Lead and Copper Rule lawsuit remand

Court motion filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saying it will reassess revisions it made to the Lead and Copper Rule during the Trump administration, promising key improvements to the rule.

Document August 9, 2022

Combined LCR Petition (August 2022)

Three separate legal documents:
1. Initial Opening Brief of Petitioners Newburgh Clean Water Project, NAACP, Sierra Club, United Parents Against Lead, and Natural Resources Defense Council, represented by Earthjustice.
2. Standing Addendum of Petitioners Newburgh Clean Water Project, NAACP, Sierra Club, United Parents Against Lead, and Natural Resources Defense Council, represented by Earthjustice.
3. Initial Opening Brief of State Petitioners

Press Release October 28, 2021

EPA’s draft lead strategy is a positive start but lacks concrete commitments

As children across the country are drinking and breathing lead, EPA must take concrete steps

Document June 23, 2021

Lead and Copper Rule Fact Sheet 2021

The Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) is a complex set of regulations established in 1991 under the Safe Drinking Water Act. While intended to protect the public from lead in drinking water, the LCR focuses only on detecting and preventing severe contamination across a community. It is not a health-based regulation and does not address high lead levels in individual homes. The LCR is outdated and flawed.

Workers with East Bay Municipal Utility District install new water pipe on April 22, 2021, in Walnut Creek, California.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Update June 22, 2021

We’re Fighting to Keep Lead Out of Homes, Childcare Facilities, and Drinking Water. Here’s How You Can Help.

Tell the government we need bold solutions to protect millions of people from lead.

Press Release June 17, 2021

Impacted Communities’ Input is Critical to Address Nation’s Lead Problem

Earthjustice commends EPA for actions to strengthen Lead and Copper Rule

In the News: Washington Post May 15, 2021

Biden hopes to dig up the nation’s lead water pipes. This city wants his help.

Suzanne Novak, Attorney, Northeast Office, Earthjustice: “It’s been 30 years.”

Children in Flint, Michigan, have been poisoned by lead in the city's tap water.
(Ceyhun (Jay) Isik/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
case April 15, 2021

Lead and Copper Rule: Protecting Communities from Lead in Drinking Water

The Lead and Copper rule, or LCR, regulates the control and monitoring of lead in drinking water. Revisions to the rule, finalized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021, dramatically slow down the rate at which lead pipes are required to be replaced. The new rule also allows small public water systems required to…

Press Release March 11, 2021

Earthjustice Commends Delaying of Flawed Lead and Copper Rule

EPA seeking input from lead-poisoned communities is an encouraging step

Document January 15, 2021

Petition for Review – Newburgh Clean Water Project et al v US EPA

A coalition of civil rights and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice sued the EPA for failing to protect children’s health and the safety of the drinking water of millions of people. The lawsuit comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final — but flawed —Lead and Copper Rule Revisions in the Federal Register.

Press Release January 15, 2021

EPA Challenged for Shirking Duty to Protect Communities from Lead

Civil rights and environmental groups sue to ensure protections for millions who rely on lead-piped drinking water

Press Release December 23, 2020

Actualización de Regla de Plomo y Cobre Seguirá Afectando a Menores Hispanos y Afroamericanos

Millones beben agua por tubería de plomo, pero la EPA no asume responsabilidades

Press Release December 22, 2020

EPA’s lead rule update fails children’s health

Millions are drinking lead-piped water, yet Trump’s EPA slows down pipe replacement