EPA, HUD and HHS announce interagency commitments to more robust collaboration on addressing risks of exposures to lead

Agreements solidify agencies' dedication to a whole of government approach to preventing lead poisoning

View as a webpage / Share EPA, HUD and HHS Announce Interagency Commitments to More Robust Collaboration on Addressing Risks of Exposures to Lead Agreements solidify agencies' dedication to a whole of government approach to preventing lead poisoning The EPA, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two complementary agreements to further their "whole of government" approach to strengthen these agencies' shared work in ensuring that children, especially those at high risk, are not exposed to human health risks from lead hazards. These two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) support commitments made in the Lead and Paint Action Plan, EPA's Strategic Plan , HUD's Strategic Plan, and HHS's Strategic Plan, which seek to reduce lead exposures locally with a focus on underserved communities and promote environmental justice through a whole of government approach. The first MOU expands, updates and reaffirms a 1997 agreement between EPA and HUD to coordinate their enforcement efforts addressing lead-based paint hazards in housing.  "EPA is committed to working with our federal partners to protect children from the harmful effects of lead poisoning, which remains far too prevalent in communities across America," said David M. Uhlmann, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Today's agreement demonstrates that EPA and HUD will enforce the law fairly and aggressively to protect children, particularly those living in overburdened and underserved communities, from exposure to lead-based paint in their homes." "With this agreement, we will collaborate across the federal government to enforce the laws that aim to ensure the healthy housing future that American children deserve," said Matthew Ammon, Director of HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. "HUD is proud to join our federal partners at EPA to better align our enforcement efforts and ensure that we are protecting families – especially families with limited resources – from lead-based paint hazards in their home." The second MOU, signed by EPA, HUD and CDC launches a pilot program in the agencies' Region 3, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, to facilitate information sharing about communities with high blood lead levels or higher lead exposure risks, to help them focus their respective and collaborative efforts working in communities with the greatest risks. The agencies plan to use the knowledge gained from the pilot to expand the scope of this effort.  "Our three agencies will work together to identify, reach, and assist communities most at risk from exposure to lead," said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. "Through this pilot program, we will develop more effective processes for sharing actionable information on lead exposure, with the goal of alleviating the negative health impacts that still burden too many people across our region." "HUD is pleased to collaborate with its EPA and CDC partners on this pilot that we hope will provide the basis for an enhanced national framework for sharing and using information on the sources of lead exposures at the community and even neighborhood levels," said Ammon. "HUD has a particular interest in using the shared data to facilitate its engagement with state and local lead hazard control programs, healthy homes programs, and housing rehabilitation programs, for the purposes of improving its targeting of funding, conducting special projects, or other collaborations." "All children deserve to grow up without lead burdening their minds and bodies" said Aaron Bernstein, Director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, "We are committed to working together to leave no child behind and put an end to lead poisoning." Over 1 million children in the United States suffer from the irreversible impacts of lead poisoning, including reduced intelligence, behavioral and learning disabilities, and effects on many other body systems; new cases continue to be diagnosed every year. Lead-contaminated dust from chipped or peeling lead-based paint is one of the most common causes of elevated blood lead levels in children. Adults with exposure to lead can develop symptoms such as high blood pressure, memory loss and reduced motor skills. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to lead paint exposure because their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. They can be exposed from multiple sources and may experience irreversible and life-long health effects.  More than 34 million homes in the US have lead paint somewhere in the building. About 3.3 million homes in the US have children less than six years of age facing one or more lead-based paint hazards, including over 2 million low-income households. The EPA-HUD Memorandum of Understanding Lead Paint Compliance and Enforcement and the EPA Region 3-HUD-CDC Memorandum of Understanding for sharing of data can both be found on EPA's Enforcing Lead Laws and Regulations webpage.   You can find out more about identifying and addressing housing health and safety hazards, including those from lead, on HUD's Healthy Homes Program website. Learn more about EPA's efforts to reduce lead exposure and help protect children from lead paint by identifying and reporting lead paint violations to EPA, or identifying and reporting violations, especially in assisted housing to HUD's lead reporting email. EPA, HUD and HHS are supporting the 2019 Federal Lead Action Plan, which was designed to reduce exposure to lead and improve children's health. Learn more about Children's Health and Healthy School Environments.

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Issued: Feb 27, 2024 (2:30pm EST)

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Biden-Harris Administration announces over $1 billion to start new cleanup projects and continue work at 100 Superfund sites across the country

Thanks to this third and final wave of investment from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is funding all the construction work that is ready to begin at Superfund sites nationwide

WASHINGTON  — Today, Feb. 27, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects at more than 100 Superfund sites across the country as part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda. This funding is made possible by the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will launch new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites and continue other cleanups at over 85 Superfund sites.

Thousands of contaminated sites exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites can include toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining, and can harm the health and well-being of local communities in urban and rural areas. More than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site.

Today's investment is the final wave of funding from the $3.5 billion allocated for Superfund cleanup work in the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. So far, EPA has deployed more than $2 billion for cleanup activities at more than 150 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Thanks to President Biden's commitment to addressing legacy pollution and improving public health, EPA has been able to provide as much funding for cleanup work in the past two years as it did in the previous five years while delivering on President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

"After three rounds of investments, EPA is delivering on President Biden's full promise to invest in cleaning up America's most contaminated Superfund sites," said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. "This final round of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has made it possible for EPA to initiate clean ups at every single Superfund site where construction work is ready to begin. This is an incredible milestone in our efforts to clean up and protect communities, deliver local jobs, enhance economic activity, and improve people's lives for years to come."

"Every American deserves clean air to breathe and access to clean land and water, no matter their zip code. That's why as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I worked tirelessly with my colleagues on and off the committee to craft the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included billions of dollars for the Superfund program," said Senator Tom Carper, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "I'm pleased to see EPA announce over $1 billion of that funding today for more than 100 of our nation's most contaminated sites – helping communities across the country clean up legacy pollution and protect public health all while supporting local economies."

"Superfund sites threaten public and environmental health across the country, but with today's announcement, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is continuing to deliver on the promise we made to clean up backlogged sites and give our communities the peace of mind they deserve," said Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "For dozens of communities, today's funding is a welcome assurance that help is on the way. I appreciate the Biden Administration's commitment to transforming communities that have been impacted by toxic contamination and applaud EPA for moving swiftly to put the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's resources to work."

Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding announced today, a number of new cleanup projects will move forward, including:

• At the East Helena Superfund site in East Helena, Montana, funds will advance critical cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination caused by more than a century of smelting lead, zinc, and other metals at the former ASARCO facility.
• At the US Finishing/Cone Mills Superfund site in Greenville, South Carolina, funds will support the completion of cleanup work at the site by treating contaminated groundwater, paving the way for the site's return to productive use as mixed-use development (commercial and residential) through a unique public-private partnership with the state of South Carolina and landowners. 
• At the Standard Chlorine of Delaware Inc. Superfund site in New Castle, Delaware, funds will go toward excavation and treatment of wetland soils and sediment contaminated through historical industrial activities and spills outside of the former chemical manufacturing plant.
• At the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site in Lake County, California, funds will address mining waste to help ensure the long term protection of residential areas and make on-site mine areas safe for limited use by Elem Indian Colony residents for hunting, fishing, foraging, and transit to nearby lands.
• At the Iron King Mine/Humboldt Smelter Superfund site in Dewey-Humbolt, Arizona, funding will protect the community from mining and smelting waste by cleaning up additional residential properties and permanently consolidating the contaminated waste.

EPA is committed to advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. Thus far, nearly 80% of the funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has gone to sites in communities with potential environmental justice concerns. Out of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, more than 75% are in communities with potential environmental justice concerns based on data from EJSCREEN.

President Biden's Investing in America agenda is restoring the health and economic vitality of communities that have been exposed to pervasive legacy pollution. The historic investment made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law strengthens every part of the Superfund program, making a dramatic difference in EPA's ability to tackle threats to human health and the environment. In addition to funding cleanup construction work, the investment is enabling EPA to increase funding for and accelerate essential work needed to prepare sites for construction and to ensure communities are meaningfully involved in the cleanup process. In 2023, EPA continued to fund Superfund pre-construction activities such as remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial designs, and community involvement at double pre-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law levels.

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERLCA), known as Superfund. The law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, EPA steps in to address risks to human health and the environment using funds appropriated by Congress, like the funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

To see a list of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, visit EPA's Superfund webpage.

To see highlights from the first two years of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at Superfund sites, visit EPA's Cleaning Up Superfund Sites: Highlights of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding website.

For more information about EPA's Superfund program, visit EPA's Superfund website

For further information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

 

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Issued: Feb 27, 2024 (1:58pm EST)

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EPA Invests $1 Million in New York State Communities Through UAlbany-Led Community Air Monitoring Projects

ALBANY, N.Y.  – Communities in New York's Capital District and in other areas of New York will get valuable data from two air monitoring projects funded by $1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its efforts to invest in communities across America. EPA recently awarded the money to the University at Albany (UAlbany) for two community air quality monitoring projects that will measure and reduce exposure to air pollutants that affect public health. The funding is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's historic investment of $53.4 million in 132 air monitoring projects in 37 states, funded by the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, to enhance air quality monitoring in communities that are underserved and overburdened by pollution.

To celebrate the awards, EPA joined U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and other local stakeholders at Giffen Memorial Elementary School, a future air monitoring site in Albany's South End. UAlbany researchers displayed an example of a low-cost air monitor and led a demonstration of their mobile air monitoring van.

"Air pollution is a serious threat to the health and well-being of millions of Americans, especially those who live in communities that are disproportionately exposed to harmful emissions. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to investing in community-based solutions that help improve air quality, protect public health, and advance environmental justice," said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. "These air monitoring projects are examples of how we can partner with local stakeholders to support communities with data and tools they need to address their air quality challenges and achieve their environmental goals."

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "DEC applauds the Biden-Harris Administration, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, and Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia for their continued commitment to improving air quality, combating climate change, and prioritizing environmental justice. The $1 million announced today will complement ongoing efforts like DEC's successful Community Air Monitoring Initiative to obtain localized data that will help assess the air quality in neighborhoods here in Albany and across the state." 

"I'm thrilled to celebrate this major federal investment that will enable the University at Albany to conduct critical community air quality monitoring projects here in our Capital Region and across New York State," Congressman Paul Tonko said. "Ever since I welcomed EPA Administrator Regan to speak with residents and community leaders at Albany's South End about the importance of addressing inequities and environmental injustice, we've been committed to helping alleviate those burdens and build healthier communities. These awards are an example of taking in those important conversations and transforming them into meaningful action. Thanks to our American Rescue Plan and our Inflation Reduction Act, we are making significant strides to ensure that our families have clean air to breathe. I'm grateful to EPA for recognizing this need and taking steps to meet it, and I look forward to the tremendous positive impact these projects will have on our Capital Region communities."

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "When I first became Mayor, I worked tirelessly to secure air monitoring in Albany's South End through a partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That study showed that our South End neighbors are disproportionately impacted by particulates from truck traffic. The information gleaned from that study was one of the ways we were able to convince large-volume vehicle operators to change their route away from Ezra Prentice and to advocate for a replacement of the Port of Albany road so we can eventually ban truck traffic from Pearl Street. This effort led by Biden-Harris Administration and the EPA in conjunction with SUNY University at Albany and the Albany City School District will help us understand whether our past efforts are still working and identify what additional pollutants - both outdoors and indoors - are present in one of our most historically underserved communities. I applaud President Biden, Vice President Harris, Congressman Tonko, and our state and local partners for engaging in this important project."

"The University at Albany is proud to partner on the EPA's largest investment for community air monitoring in its history," said Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas, UAlbany Vice President for Research & Economic Development. "Air quality is a serious problem that is expected to worsen through climate change. These two projects, led by faculty at our nationally renowned Atmospheric Sciences Research Center and College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, will play a key role in helping inform policy decisions and protecting vulnerable populations, including those in underserved communities who often experience higher pollution exposure levels."

"We're excited to be part of this important work that's happening in our community and in the South End in particular," said City School District of Albany Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter. "We're also grateful to the EPA, UAlbany, and our partners in city, state and federal government for their focus on improving air quality for all of us."

In August 2021, Congressman Tonko hosted EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan during a visit to the Capital Regionto highlight a number of key priorities the EPA has championed, including clean water infrastructure and environmental justice. During this tour, the Administrator and Congressman held an environmental justice discussion at Ezra Prentice Homes, where they heard insights from residents and pledged federal action and support for investments in public health protections and pollution reductions in the communities that need them most.

Today's announcement highlights EPA awards of nearly $500,000 each to two UAlbany projects. The goal of the projects, led by researchers at UAlbany, is to improve air quality and public health across underserved neighborhoods across New York State.

• NY Capital District Communities Air Quality Measurement Network. Working closely with local partners, UAlbany researchers will use low-cost sensors to measure the air quality inside and outside five community schools, such as the Giffen Memorial School, and use a mobile lab to provide accurate measurements. The researchers will analyze the data to estimate people's exposure to air pollution inside and outside their homes and suggest ways to make the air cleaner and healthier. The project partners are Healthy Schools Network and the City School District of Albany. The project covers five areas: Northeast Albany, South Albany, Northwest Albany, North Troy, and East Schenectady. The air monitors will measure carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, fine particles and volatile organic compounds.

• Promoting Sustainable Air Quality at Underserved Neighborhoods in New York State. UAlbany researchers will use low-cost sensors to measure the air quality inside and outside people's homes in underserved neighborhoods in the Capital District, Hudson Valley and Harlem. The researchers will work with community leaders to understand and improve the air quality and public health. The project covers seven areas: South End in Albany, Schenectady, Cohoes, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Harlem in Manhattan. The air monitors will measure black carbon, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, fine particles, volatile organic compounds, and other air toxics.  

Learn more about these and other winners on EPA's American Rescue Plan's Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring Competitive Grant webpage.

Air Monitoring and Air Quality Sensors Grants under the Inflation Reduction Act

The funding EPA announced today is one piece of the overall Inflation Reduction Act approach to improving air monitoring across the country. On Feb. 16, EPA announced the availability of an additional $81 million in funding for eligible air agencies to expand and upgrade the nation's air quality monitoring networks, as well as approximately $2 million in funding to support state, local, territorial and Tribal agencies in the deployment and operation of air quality sensors in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the United States. Together, these investments will provide critical resources to ensure the sustainability of national air quality monitoring networks, helping protect human health and the environment and ensuring Americans are breathing cleaner air.

EPA encourages eligible entities to apply for funding as soon as possible and no later than April 8, 2024. Details about the application process are available on EPA's Air Quality and Air Quality Sensors Grants website.

Find out more by visiting EPA's Air Grants and Funding webpage.  

Follow EPA Region 2 on X and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

For further information: Barbara Khan (khan.barbara@epa.gov) 720-595-8698

 

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