Bad state data may misdirect nearly $1 billion in federal funds to replace lead pipes

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency didn’t ensure that states submitted accurate estimates of the number of lead pipes they had. The problem could send nearly $1 billion to places that don’t need it, according to a report by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General. It isn’t too late to ensure that much of the money gets redirected to the right places. Big problems were found in data submitted by Texas and Florida that inflated the EPA’s allocation of funds to those states. The findings come weeks after the Biden administration finalized a rule mandating that most cities replace their lead pipes in 10 years.