(12/16) The Lead Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) was published January 15, 2021. This new rule established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focused on a suite of actions to address lead contamination in drinking water. The rule is meant to improve the current Lead and Copper Rule and further reduce lead exposure resulting in increased public health protection.

The contents of the full rule are documented in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 40, part 141.84 (40 CFR 141.84).

Below are key elements of the rule as it applies to local municipalities and their roles and responsibilities.

141.84 Lead service line replacement requirements.

(a) Lead service line inventory. All water systems must develop an inventory to identify the materials of service lines connected to the public water distribution system. The inventory must meet the following requirements:

(1) All water systems must develop an initial inventory by October 16, 2024, and submit it to the primacy agency in accordance with § 141.90(e).

(2) The inventory must include all service lines connected to the public water distribution system regardless of ownership status (e.g., where service line ownership is shared, the inventory would include both the portion of the service line owned by the water system and the customer-owned portion of the service line).

(3) A water system must use any information on lead and galvanized iron or steel that it has identified when conducting the inventory of service lines in its distribution system for the initial inventory

(4) Each service line, or portion of the service line where ownership is split, must be categorized in the following manner:

(i) "Lead" where the service line is made of lead.

(ii) "Galvanized Requiring Replacement" where a galvanized service line is or was at any time downstream of a lead service line or is currently downstream of a "Lead Status Unknown" service line. If the water system is unable to demonstrate that the galvanized service line was never downstream of a lead service line, it must presume there was an upstream lead service line.

[Editor’s note A galvanized service line must be classified as GRR if the line is or was at any time downstream of a lead service line, or if it is currently downstream of a lead status unknown service line. If the water system is unable to demonstrate that the galvanized service line was never downstream of a lead service line, it must presume there was an upstream lead service line, and the line must be classified as GRR.]

(iii) "Non-lead" where the service line is determined through an evidence-based record, method, or technique not to be lead or galvanized requiring replacement. The water system may classify the actual material of the service line (i.e., plastic or copper) as an alternative to classifying it as "Non-lead."

(iv) "Lead Status Unknown" where the service line material is not known to be lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or a non-lead service line, such as where there is no documented evidence supporting material classification. The water system may classify the line as "Unknown" as an alternative to classifying it as "Lead Status Unknown," however, all requirements that apply to "Lead Status Unknown" service lines must also apply to those classified as "Unknown." Water systems may elect to provide more information regarding their unknown lines as long as the inventory clearly distinguishes unknown service lines from those where the material has been verified through records or inspection.

(b) Lead service line replacement plan. All water systems with one or more lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or lead status unknown service lines in their distribution system must, by October 16, 2027, submit a lead service line replacement plan to the State in accordance with § 141.90(e). The lead service line replacement plan must be sufficiently detailed to ensure a system is able to comply with the lead service line replacement requirements in accordance with this section. The plan must include a description of:

(1) A strategy for determining the composition of lead status unknown service lines in its inventory;

(2) A procedure for conducting full lead service line replacement;

(3) A strategy for informing customers before a full or partial lead service line replacement;

(4) For systems that serve more than 10,000 persons, a lead service line replacement goal rate recommended by the system in the event of a lead trigger level exceedance;

(5) A procedure for customers to flush service lines and premise plumbing of particulate lead;

(6) A lead service line replacement prioritization strategy based on factors including but not limited to the targeting of known lead service lines, lead service line replacement for disadvantaged consumers and populations most sensitive to the effects of lead; and

(7) A funding strategy for conducting lead service line replacements which considers ways to accommodate customers that are unable to pay to replace the portion they own.

(e) Requirements for conducting full lead service line replacement. Any water system that conducts a full lead service line replacement must provide notice to the owner of the affected service line, or the owner's authorized agent, as well as non-owner resident(s) served by the affected service line within 24 hours of completion of the replacement. The water system is not required to bear the cost of replacement of the portion of the lead service line not owned by the water system.

(1) The notification must meet the content requirements of § 141.85(a) explaining that consumers may experience a temporary increase of lead levels in their drinking water due to the replacement, information about the health effects of lead, and actions consumers can take to minimize their exposure to lead in drinking water. In instances where multi-family dwellings are served by the lead service line to be replaced, the water system may elect to post the information at a conspicuous location instead of providing individual notification to all residents.

(2) The water system must provide information about service line flushing in accordance with the procedure developed under paragraph (b)(5) of this section before the replaced service line is returned to service.

(3) The water system must provide the consumer with a pitcher filter or point-of-use device certified by an American National Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead, six months of replacement cartridges, and instructions for use before the replaced service line is returned to service. If the lead service line serves more than one residence or non-residential unit (e.g., a multi-unit building), the water system must provide a filter and six months of replacement cartridges and use instructions to every residence in the building.

(4) The water system must offer to the consumer to take a follow up tap sample between three months and six months after completion of any full replacement of a lead service line. The water system must provide the results of the sample to the consumer in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

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Diagram of what must is considered the 'service line' that must be inspected by the town

The purpose of the service line inventory is to track a systems progress to full lead service line replacement. The service line inventory will provide the basis for communicating to the public, customers, residents, and other persons served by the water system which of the four categories of service line is delivering the water they consume. The final purpose of the inventory is a way for the Department to verify whether monitoring samples are being collected from homes with service lines that are lead unless the system does not have any.

Having a complete and accurate service line inventory is the first step to compliance with the LCRR. All activities required by the regulation builds from this initial service line inventory. The focus is on finding the lead service lines and galvanized service lines that require replacement throughout the distribution system, so that replacement and sampling activities target these most vulnerable areas of the system.

The service line inventory needs to identify all service lines regardless of ownership status. Where service line ownership is joint, the inventory would include both the portion of the service line owned by the water system, and the customer owned portion of the service line.

For the proposes of this Rule, a service line is the pipe which connects the water main to the building inlet that may be owned by the water system, the property owner, or both. The diagram on this page depicts a common residential connection in which the ownership is split at the curb stop or property line.

A system may have several unknown service lines. For systems with joint ownership, both the water system-owned and the customer-owned portions must be identified. If either side is unknown, then the line is categorized as an unknown service line. Systems with unknown lines are treated like lead lines until it is determined that they are not lead.

After October 16, 2024, updates to the inventory are required until…

• all unknowns are identified
• all lead service lines, and galvanized requiring replacement lines are replaced
• non-lead verification

As noted in Section d of the rule, all water systems with lead service lines or unknown service lines must create a Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) plan. The replacement rate would be based on the total number of lead service lines plus the number of galvanized requiring replacement plus the number of unknown service lines.

Systems must inform consumers annually that they are served by a lead service line or a lead status unknown service line.

The water system may cease mandatory lead service line replacement if the system has no remaining lead status unknown service lines in its inventory and obtains refusals to conduct full lead service line replacement or non-responses from every remaining customer in its distribution system served by either a full or partial lead service line, or a galvanized requiring replacement service line. For purposes of this paragraph (g)(7) and in accordance with § 141.90(e), a water system must provide documentation to the State of customer refusals including a refusal signed by the customer, documentation of a verbal statement made by the customer refusing replacement, or documentation of no response from the customer after the water system made a minimum of two good faith attempts to reach the customer regarding full lead service line replacement.

Nothing in this rule requires the water system to bear the cost of replacement of the customer-owned portion of a lead service line.