Biden commits another $3B to replace lead pipes across the country: 'We're going to get it done'
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- On his second stop Thursday in North Carolina, President Joe Biden announced his administration was committing $3 billion to replace lead pipes across the country.
"There's no safe level of lead exposure," he said. "None. The only way forward is to replace every lead service line that connects clean water."
The $3 billion commitment builds on the $5.8 billion announced in February for water infrastructure projects around the country.
Money for the pipe replacement comes from one of the administration's key legislative victories, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed in 2021. The infrastructure law includes over $50 billion to upgrade America's water infrastructure.
"No person should fear that their tap water will poison them. Ensuring everyone has access to clean, safe affordable drinking water is a basic human right and a moral imperative," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
The new round of funding will help pay for projects nationwide as Biden seeks to replace all lead pipes in the country.
"We're going to get it done," he said.
EPA estimates that North Carolina has 370,000 lead pipes, and $76 million will go to replace them statewide.
"They expect and deserve clean drinking water and expect and deserve elected leaders who make sure that job gets done," Gov. Roy Cooper added.
Biden also met with faculty and students at a Wilmington school that replaced a water fountain with high levels of lead with money from the law, noting that the replacement program is already underway.
SEE ALSO | Biden commits another $3B to replace lead pipes across the country: 'We're going to get it done'
Biden's visit in Wilmington was not a campaign rally, but any trip by politicians during an election year tends to feel like a campaign event.
For his part, Biden took a swipe at Republicans during his speech in Wilmington, criticizing their votes against the American Rescue Plan.
Democrats have invested heavily in the state, setting up field offices in an effort to carry it in the general election for the first time since 2008. Thursday was the third time President Biden has visited North Carolina in 2024, with other White House officials making separate trips over the past several months.
Donald Trump was supposed to visit Wilmington last month but was forced to cancel due to weather-related safety concerns. His 2020 victory in North Carolina was his closest during that cycle, with the state serving great importance to the GOP. The last Republican to win the White House without North Carolina was Dwight Eisenhower in 1952.
Jason Simmons, who was elected NCGOP Chair in March, expressed confidence in the party's position about six months out until the election.
"When individuals are going to the grocery store and paying more, when they're going to the gas station and paying more, they understand they're not better off than they were four years ago. When they see what's going on at the southern border, the crime that's flowing over it, the fentanyl that's flowing over it, there's real concern of public safety in our communities across our state," said Simmons.
Simmons replaced Michael Whatley, who is now serving as Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
