Groups Head to Court to Defend Lead Pipe Rule Challenged by Water Utilities
WASHINGTON – The legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) vital rule requiring the removal of lead drinking water pipes will be heard in federal court today. Water utilities opposing the rule face community and environmental organizations, and even the Trump administration, all of which are defending the rule established by the EPA.
The following are reactions by groups defending the lead rule:
“Safe drinking water free from lead contamination is a concept supported by people across America. Water utilities fighting the lead rule are on the wrong side of history. Communities from Flint to Chicago, Newburgh to Newark have demanded safe drinking water for all. We are in court to ensure those decades-long efforts to end the public health crisis of lead-contaminated drinking water remain in place,” said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
“Lead in drinking water is a public health crisis that harms millions of children and adults. The American Water Works Association could help solve this problem; instead, it is the only group in the country fighting to stop the rule that requires water systems to remove lead pipes,” said Suzanne Novak, Earthjustice senior attorney representing Newburgh Clean Water Project and Sierra Club. “Earthjustice and its clients are fighting to make sure the new rule protecting communities from lead in water stands. Families can't afford more years of delay.”
“Clean water is a human right and should be accessible to us all, especially our most vulnerable citizens, children. Yet millions of kids in the United States are exposed to or poisoned by the lead-tainted water in their homes and schools," said Gabrielle Burton-Hill, steering committee member of the Newburgh Clean Water Project. "It is outrageous and disappointing the American Water Works Association, which claims to stand with communities on stopping lead in water, is challenging the very rule that will get lead pipes out of the ground. Newburgh Clean Water Project are proud to defend this rule on behalf of our families and children.”
“According to EPA's own numbers, this rule will protect up to 900,000 infants every year. That is what the American Water Works Association is asking a court to put at risk," said Debbie Neustadt, water affordability volunteer leader at the Sierra Club. “There is no safe level of lead, and voluntary promises have not been enough to get lead pipes out of the ground. Strong, enforceable lead rules are what protect children, and that is why we are in court defending this one.”
Background
This case, filed by the water utility trade association the American Water Works Association, challenges the Biden administration EPA’s October 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which will require virtually all lead service lines to be removed within a 10-year period (American Water Works Association v. EPA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Case No. 24-1376).
NRDC, along with Newburgh Clean Water Project and the Sierra Club, both of which are represented by Earthjustice, have intervened in this case to defend the rule. The briefs on the legality of the rule have been filed by the EPA and all parties, including the industry challengers of the rule and NRDC and our partners (key briefs are available here). Several health organizations and other groups, among them the American Academy of Pediatrics and 17 state attorneys general, filed amicus briefs supporting the rule. The Trump administration has also filed a brief defending the rule. Oral arguments in the case, including arguments defending the rule by NRDC Senior Attorney Jared Thompson on behalf of community and environmental groups, will be held on September 30, 2026.
Additional Resources
What to Expect in Key EPA Cases on PFAS and Lead in Drinking Water (May 2026)
Lead Water Rules Challenged in Court (NRDC press release, December 2024)
Welcoming the EPA’s New Lead in Tap Water Rule: An Overview (NRDC blog)
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).