Federal Water Tap, October 28: EPA Used ‘Flawed Data’ to Allocate Lead Pipe Removal Funds, Watchdog Says

The Rundown

• EPA watchdog criticizes agency’s survey to allocate lead service line removal funds.
• CDC seeks approval to gather data to track outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis, a waterborne disease.
• Federal and state agencies begin an environmental assessment of a key electricity transmission project that would link the country’s eastern and western grids.
• Federal ag research agency and academic partners sketch a roadmap for dealing with PFAS in agriculture.
• EPA announces FY25 allocations for the state revolving funds for water infrastructure.
• USGS estimates the number of people who use groundwater in which PFAS are detectable.

And lastly, the CDC investigates Legionnaires’ disease cases linked to hot tubs on cruise ships.

“Hot tubs offer favorable conditions for Legionella growth and transmission when maintained and operated inadequately, regardless of location. Private hot tubs on cruise ships are not subject to the same maintenance requirements as are public hot tubs in common areas. Given the range of hot tub–type devices offered as amenities across the cruise industry, to reduce risk for Legionella growth and transmission, it is important for cruise ship water management program staff members to inventory and assess private balcony hot tubs and adapt public hot tub maintenance and operations protocols for use on private outdoor hot tubs.” – Conclusion from a CDC investigation of 12 Legionnaires’ disease cases on two cruise ships. The public health agency said the likely culprits for the pneumonia-like respiratory illness were hot tubs accessible in private cabins.

In context: 116 Confirmed Cases in North Carolina’s Largest Recorded Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

By the Numbers

$344 Million: Funding for lead service line removal that probably should not have been allocated to Texas and Florida in fiscal year 2023 due to counting errors, according to an Office of the Inspector General report.

$6.2 Billion: Fiscal year 2025 funding allocations announced for the state revolving funds for clean water and drinking water. These are the primary federal vehicles for water infrastructure funding. Some $2.8 billion is for the clean water fund while $3.4 billion is for the drinking water fund.

71 Million to 95 Million: Estimated number of people in the Lower 48 states who use groundwater in which PFAS could be detectable before treatment, according to U.S. Geological Survey research. The number is derived from a model of groundwater at depths from which it is used for drinking water. The intent is to identify areas to prioritize for well testing.

News Briefs

‘Flawed Data’ on Lead Service Lines
The EPA’s internal watchdog found that federal funds for removing lead service lines were misallocated due to “significantly flawed data” that two states reported to the EPA.

These errors in an EPA survey of state infrastructure needs resulted in less money going to states that needed it more, according to the Office of Inspector General report.

The report flags several missteps in how the EPA conducted the survey. Above all, the agency did not require states to show their work when they submitted estimates of lead service lines and it did not verify those numbers or methods. A data entry error, for instance, inflated the number of lead lines in Texas by 95 percent.

For Texas and Florida, the two states reviewed in the report, the OIG noted $344 million in “questionable allotments” for fiscal year 2023 and $200 million in fiscal year 2024.

The OIG recommended that the EPA adjust its allocations for the final three years of lead service line removal that is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The EPA disagreed with the recommendation, arguing that perfect information was not achievable. The agency, however, said it does “share the OIG’s concerns about the unreliable reporting of information by Texas and Florida.”

Congress mandates that the EPA periodically survey states and tribes for their drinking water infrastructure needs. It is the basis for allotting federal water infrastructure funding.

The latest survey, completed last year, included a separate questionnaire on lead service lines. The responses informed the allocation of federal infrastructure bill funds for the purpose of removing lead pipes.

Studies and Reports

Hot Tub Disease Machine
The CDC investigated cases of Legionnaires’ disease that were acquired on cruise ships in the last two years. Eight passengers on one ship and four on the second fell ill with the respiratory illness caused by inhaling Legionella bacteria.

Hot tubs are known to spread Legionella through the vapors that rise from their water.

The report notes different regulatory requirements for hot tubs open to the public and those in private rooms. The private hot tubs are not required to have continuous disinfectant. Instead, they have to be shock chlorinated between uses.

In context: Updated Laws and Collaboration Needed to Control Legionnaires’ Disease, America’s Deadliest Waterborne Illness

PFAS in Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers along with academic and state partners published a high-level roadmap to respond to PFAS agriculture. The toxic chemicals enter farmland typically via sewage sludge, which is used as fertilizer.

A product of a three-day workshop held in September, the roadmap outlines seven “focal points.” They include soil testing, reducing the use of PFAS in commerce, understanding how plants and animals react to the chemicals, and improving the management of sewage sludge.

Farmers and ranchers are suing the EPA for its alleged lax oversight of PFAS in sewage sludge which has resulted in the culling of contaminated dairy cows in New Mexico.

On the Radar

Tracking Waterborne Disease
The CDC is seeking permission to collect data on outbreaks of a certain waterborne disease.

The disease in question is cryptosporidiosis, which is spread by parasites in drinking water and presents itself as a nasty bout of diarrhea.

The public health agency wants approval for its data collection methods, which would help identify infection sources. The reporting form would be used by health officials when tracking cases.

Bridging the Country’s Electrical Divide
Federal and state agencies will begin an environmental impact statement for an electrical transmission project that will connect the country’s separate eastern and western grids.

The 420-mile North Plains Connector, a project of the company Grid United, would allow electricity to flow more easily across the country, helping to balance demand, improve reliability, and integrate renewable power into the grid. The high-voltage line would stretch from Montana to North Dakota.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in a 2020 assessment, found “significant value” to linking the largely isolated grids.

Agencies are taking comments through December 9 on the scope of the analysis. Public meetings will be held in November in the two states that would be affected by construction.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton