EPA launching new water infrastructure effort after Flint

Federal regulators plan to begin working with state and local officials on an assessment of drinking water infrastructure in the wake of the Flint, Mich. crisis. The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it will begin discussing— with state regulators, utilities and groups outside government — steps they can take to implement safe drinking water laws. The agency will focus on issues like state and federal oversight of drinking water and ways to help low-income communities disproportionately impacted by water problems. The effort will look at implementation of rules guiding lead and copper levels and how to regulate other chemicals that might be found in drinking water. White House officials will also conduct a study of the science and technology behind national drinking water regulations and issue recommendations for federal regulators...more