Gov. Maura Healey has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of delaying the discharge of greater than $50 million in “critical funds” for lead pipe substitute within the Bay State.
The primary-term Democrat from Massachusetts mentioned the state has a number of the oldest housing inventory and water infrastructure within the nation, and lead service strains “remain a threat to public health, especially for young children.”
“These funds stimulate our economy by creating construction jobs, replacing outdated infrastructure, and most importantly ensuring that residents are drinking safe, clean water. We urge the Trump administration to cease this dangerous delay in critical funding,” Healey mentioned in an announcement Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Safety Company mentioned the company is working to “expeditiously award funding to states under the longstanding State Revolving Fund programs to support lead service line replacements as well as drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure upgrades that are critical to local communities.”
The EPA introduced in Could 2024 — beneath the Biden administration — that Massachusetts would obtain $50.1 million for cities and cities to assist establish and change lead service strains and forestall publicity to steer in ingesting water.
However the Trump administration, in response to Healey, delayed the allocation of the cash because it conducts a evaluate in opposition to a sequence of govt orders signed by the president. Healey mentioned her administration has not acquired a timeline for when, or if, the funds will likely be launched.
The cash was supposed to go to the Massachusetts Clear Water Belief’s “Drinking Water State Revolving Fund,” a program designed to offer low-cost financing to assist neighborhood public water suppliers adjust to ingesting water necessities, in response to the Healey administration.
This system is run by the Massachusetts Division of Environmental Safety.
Healey argued that the money is meant to facilitate the elimination of dangerous lead from ingesting water by “supporting public water systems for inventorying lead service lines and creating plans for the replacement of those lines.”
Lawyer Basic Andrea Campbell, who has repeatedly sued the Trump administration this 12 months, mentioned lead pipes pose “serious health risks for Massachusetts residents, especially children and those living in poorer communities.”
“Since day one, I have advocated for federal funding to address this pressing public health issue, and I will continue to speak out against policies that put the health and safety of our residents at risk,” she mentioned in an announcement launched by Healey’s workplace.
Trump and White Home officers have repeatedly paused, delayed, or withheld funding from states as they evaluate spending choices in opposition to a flurry of govt orders the president has signed.
State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chairs the Massachusetts Clear Water Belief, mentioned the “thoughtless delay” places individuals in danger.
“The federal funding we use addresses a critical health issue and allows us to invest in vital water infrastructure projects that directly benefit the people who need it most. Providing clean, lead-free drinking water should not be controversial,” she mentioned in an announcement.
The money for lead pipe substitute is just not the primary Massachusetts-bound cash to be held up beneath Trump.
The president lower greater than $12 million earlier this month to offer locally-sourced meals to high school kids in Massachusetts, a transfer that drew rebukes from native elected officers.
The Trump administration can be making an attempt to chop funding for medical analysis by remodeling a coverage that caps extra grant cash that establishments obtain for oblique prices related to tasks.
That call, which is the topic of a courtroom problem, might have an effect on greater than $200 million in federal {dollars} for Boston Kids’s Hospital, high executives on the medical facility have mentioned.
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