Committee Approves Loans for Lead Laterals
$550,000 loan program for any resident, regardless of income, to replace lead laterals.
Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan, Jr. is pushing for the replacement of lead pipes connected to property owners’ water meters known as “laterals” with two new proposals, put forward during the Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee meeting last Wednesday. “It’s about time the local government took action to address the lead crisis in our community,” he declared.
The committee voted unanimously to approve Supervisor Weishan’s resolution, authorizing a $550,000 loan program to any Milwaukee County resident, regardless of income, for lead removal. It also requires that lead remediation become a condition for the sale of county-acquired tax-foreclosed properties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that no level of lead contamination is safe. Milwaukee, Racine, and Watertown were among the top 10 jurisdictions with the highest rates of lead poisoning, according to a 2016 report by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. This is largely due to a high number of old housing units in these areas.
Gov. Tony Evers declared 2019 the “year of clean drinking water” in Wisconsin after taking office. More than 200,000 lead service lines are scattered across the Badger State, with some 77,000 in Milwaukee. Lead lateral removal became a key issue in the budget battle, during which Republicans struck down a proposed $40 million to address the issue statewide. Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), and others, argued that it wasn’t a fair proposal for taxpayers because too much funding would go to Milwaukee.
“I’ve been urging action on lead remediation for years, but my appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears,” Supervisor Weishan said in the committee meeting. “With this proposal, we’re putting real money towards the problem so homeowners can replace the lead laterals to their homes.”
Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.
More about the Lead Crisis
- IRS Rules that Homeowners Won’t Have to Pay Additional Taxes for Subsidized Replacement of Lead Pipes - Milwaukee Water Works - Feb 29th, 2024
- Milwaukee Makes It Far Easier To Replace Your Lead Service Line - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 18th, 2023
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Praises Biden Administration Effort to Remove Lead Pipes in 10 Years - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Nov 30th, 2023
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Partnership with 10 Wisconsin Communities to Accelerate Lead Service Line Replacement as Part of Investing in America Agenda - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Nov 2nd, 2023
- Evers, DNR Announce $402 Million Funding to Improve Local Drinking Water - Henry Redman - Oct 24th, 2023
- How EPA’s Proposed Lead Dust Rules Would Impact Wisconsin - Farrah Anderson - Aug 30th, 2023
- City Regulators Can Require Fixing of Lead Hazards — If They Can Find Landlords - Farrah Anderson - Aug 29th, 2023
- MPS Hopeful New Filters Will Keep Water Safe - Evan Casey - Aug 29th, 2023
- City Seeks Firm To Manage Its Accelerating Lead Pipe Replacements - Jeramey Jannene - Aug 9th, 2023
- City Hall: City Unveils Latest Lead Lateral Plan - Jeramey Jannene - May 24th, 2023
Read more about Lead Crisis here
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