The United States Environmental Protection Agency is announcing $7,181,000 in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding for American Samoa through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
This funding will flow through the drinking water state revolving funds (DWSRFs) and is available to support lead pipe replacement and inventory projects.
EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said, “All Americans deserve lead-free water, and American Samoa is doing the critical public health work of helping American Samoa Power Authority search their systems to identify dangerous lead service lines and then providing the necessary funding to remove and replace these outdated lead pipes.”
The award for American Samoa was announced at the same time that the Biden-Harris Administration issued a final rule requiring drinking water systems nationwide to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) also require more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold for communities to act on lead in drinking water to protect people from lead exposure. In addition, the final rule improves communication within communities so that families are better informed about the risk of lead in drinking water, the location of lead pipes, and plans for replacing them.
The issue of lead service lines in the Pacific Island territories is less well-documented than elsewhere in the country. Therefore, American Samoa is utilizing EPA funding to complete its Service Line Inventory by the Oct. 16, 2024, deadline set by the Lead and Copper Rule Revision. It will continue to update those inventories over the next several years to ensure all lead pipes are identified and addressed.
