House thwarts attempts by EPA to regulate fire hydrants

The House unanimously passed legislation Monday that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring that all new fire hydrants be lead-free by early next year. Democrats and Republicans rejected the agency’s rule, saying it goes too far. The EPA issued a guidance in October saying that since fire hydrants are sometimes used to supply drinking water during emergency situations, they are covered under the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. Thus, all new fire hydrants installed after Jan. 4, 2014 must be lead-free. “No one is getting a steady supply of drinking water from the fire hydrant at the end of their street, so we should not add to the heavy burden our local governments with constrained budgets already experience,” said Rep. Paul Tonko, a New York Democrat. “We can all agree that our water supply and public health should be held to the highest standard, but reasonable fixes must always be considered if it looks like resources are going to be wasted.” Lawmakers argued that the EPA guidance would put a financial burden on communities since lead-free fire hydrants are not commercially available. During the winter time, fire hydrants often break or need to be replaced. The lead-free requirement would make it difficult to repair or replace fire hydrants — posing a public health risk...more