EPA Publishes Two Federal Register Notices for LCRR Delays

In today’s (3/12) Federal Register, EPA published two notices that impact the effective and compliance dates for the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). The first notice delays of the March 16, 2021, effective date of the LCRR, published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2021. The LCRR will now become effective on June 17, 2021. This final rule does not change the compliance date of January 16, 2024. This delay in the effective date is consistent with Presidential directives issued on January 20, 2021, directing the heads of Federal agencies to review certain regulations issued towards the end of the last Administration, including the LCRR. There is no public comment requested and this delay goes into effect today.

The second notice proposes to delay the effective date of the LCRR until December 16, 2021. EPA is also proposing to delay the January 16, 2024, compliance date established in the LCRR to September 16, 2024. Comments on this proposal must be submitted by April 12, 2021. EPA intends to conduct stakeholder outreach, so so that the agency can seek additional public input on the LCRR, particularly from communities that are most at-risk of exposure to lead in drinking water. After this outreach and reviewing the comments, EPA will make a decision to finalize these new dates, or to leave the dates as is.