WEBVTT - Lead Pipe Money to Ooze, Not Flow, Out of EPA

0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.240
<v Speaker 1>A decade after the Flint Crisis, Congress just made a

0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>massive investment toward removing lead pipes from our nation's drinking

0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:10.240
<v Speaker 1>water system. But on today's podcast, we look at why

0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:22.160
<v Speaker 1>the folks who run those water systems actually aren't celebrating. Hello,

0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.040
<v Speaker 1>and welcome back yet again to Partsiper Billion, the environmental

0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:29.160
<v Speaker 1>podcast from Bloomberg Law. I'm your host, David Schultz. It'll

0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.080
<v Speaker 1>be ten years this March since officials in Michigan announced

0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.200
<v Speaker 1>their plan to switch the water source for the town

0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.600
<v Speaker 1>of Flint from Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River.

0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.320
<v Speaker 1>That decision, and many many other subsequent missteps led to

0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.159
<v Speaker 1>the Flint water crisis, in which the polluted water corroded

0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.360
<v Speaker 1>the city system of old lead pipes and dissolved the

0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:52.159
<v Speaker 1>toxic metal into the town's drinking water system. Aside from

0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.840
<v Speaker 1>the sheer human tragedy of the crisis, one of its

0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:57.480
<v Speaker 1>takeaways was that using lead pipes to deliver drinking water

0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:01.160
<v Speaker 1>poses an unavoidable risk, regardless of how much that water

0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:05.000
<v Speaker 1>is or isn't treated. So that was ten years ago.

0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:08.480
<v Speaker 1>What's happened since then, Well, officials across the country have

0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.160
<v Speaker 1>realized just how hard it is to remediate an environmental

0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.320
<v Speaker 1>hazard that's been buried underground, and it's connected to each

0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:17.800
<v Speaker 1>individual home. Maybe, as you'll hear in a bit, we

0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:20.640
<v Speaker 1>don't actually know which houses get their water from lead pipes.

0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:23.200
<v Speaker 1>Late last year, there was a big development on the

0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.240
<v Speaker 1>financial side of things. Congress included fifteen billion dollars for

0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:29.880
<v Speaker 1>lead pipe removal in the Infrastructure build that the presidents

0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.080
<v Speaker 1>signed in November, and if the President's Build Back Better

0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.840
<v Speaker 1>package passes, which is looking like a big if right now,

0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.280
<v Speaker 1>that would add an additional ten billion dollars. It's the

0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:43.479
<v Speaker 1>largest federal allocation toward lead piper removal since well, maybe ever.

0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.040
<v Speaker 1>But there's a big difference between allocating money and actually

0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.200
<v Speaker 1>spending it, and that's what we're going to be discussing

0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:54.320
<v Speaker 1>on today's podcast. Bloomberg Law reporters Bobby McGill and Paige

0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.400
<v Speaker 1>Smith recently wrote stories about some of the blockages that

0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:01.560
<v Speaker 1>could clog up the flow of this money. EPUN very

0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:05.200
<v Speaker 1>much intended. I started off by asking page about exactly

0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:09.240
<v Speaker 1>what Congress actually did last year un lead pipes. So

0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:13.079
<v Speaker 1>the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it was signed by President Joe

0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.920
<v Speaker 1>Biden on November fifteenth and It essentially promises fifteen billion

0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:21.040
<v Speaker 1>dollars in funding to replace lead pipes over the next

0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:24.600
<v Speaker 1>ten years, and so that's that's been signed into law.

0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:28.000
<v Speaker 1>The other component about this is that you know, there

0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:31.560
<v Speaker 1>is there are these pending negotiations on the what is

0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.440
<v Speaker 1>known as the Build Back Better Act, and I mean

0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.640
<v Speaker 1>that would provide an additional ten billion dollars and funds

0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.080
<v Speaker 1>to replace lead pipes. And then there are also some

0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:48.040
<v Speaker 1>other White House initiatives that could provide even more funding. Bobby,

0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, I was really interested in your story about,

0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:55.680
<v Speaker 1>you know, how this money that's already been passed and

0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:57.959
<v Speaker 1>I signed by the President, how this is going to

0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.160
<v Speaker 1>get out and it sounds like there are some real

0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.720
<v Speaker 1>impediments to getting this out the door. Can you talk

0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:04.760
<v Speaker 1>a little bit about a few of the things that

0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.120
<v Speaker 1>might make it a little harder for EPA to actually

0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:12.520
<v Speaker 1>get this money into people's homes and pipes. Yeah. Well,

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.760
<v Speaker 1>part of that is that, you know, the states, for

0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.880
<v Speaker 1>the most part, are in charge of distributing this funding,

0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.720
<v Speaker 1>and so as of a few weeks ago, the states

0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.720
<v Speaker 1>we're looking for guidance from the EPA, you know, with

0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:28.880
<v Speaker 1>regard to how they should be distributing this funding to

0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:31.919
<v Speaker 1>local water systems and cities that need to replace pipes.

0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:34.880
<v Speaker 1>This goes through what they call the State Revolving Fund,

0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:38.800
<v Speaker 1>and and there are some other avenues as well, but

0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.280
<v Speaker 1>that's the primary one. Yeah, and it seemed like one

0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:44.400
<v Speaker 1>based on the people you spoke with. One of the

0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:47.760
<v Speaker 1>biggest impediments here is that we still don't know where

0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.760
<v Speaker 1>all the lead pipes are. You know, we don't have

0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:54.000
<v Speaker 1>a full inventory of where these pipes are in the country.

0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.480
<v Speaker 1>So here's a question, do you know if you have

0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:59.440
<v Speaker 1>lead pipes coming into your house? Oh? I was really

0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:03.680
<v Speaker 1>hoping you would and ask me that. No, No, I

0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.160
<v Speaker 1>can't say I do know. See, but that's the thing.

0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:10.800
<v Speaker 1>I mean. They're the number that the EPA is using

0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:15.160
<v Speaker 1>is they're estimating, you know, based on a twenty sixteen study.

0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:20.359
<v Speaker 1>They're estimating, you know, ten roughly ten million lead pipes

0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.600
<v Speaker 1>across the country that need to be replaced. And this

0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:26.040
<v Speaker 1>is an estimate because nobody knows exactly how many there are.

0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.440
<v Speaker 1>They are estimating based on like when houses were built,

0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:31.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, what materials were used back in those days.

0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:38.160
<v Speaker 1>Some cities like Pittsburgh, they're doing a survey and they

0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:40.560
<v Speaker 1>have a really cool interactive map you can see online

0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:43.600
<v Speaker 1>is to you know, where they're prioritizing these these lead

0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:46.200
<v Speaker 1>pipe replacements. But there's a lot of systems that just

0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:49.320
<v Speaker 1>don't know, and the EPA doesn't know either, and they're

0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.480
<v Speaker 1>you know that that is an impediment. Yeah, I mean

0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.680
<v Speaker 1>the other thing I was surprised by is that you

0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.839
<v Speaker 1>spoke with some folks from state water agencies who, again,

0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.280
<v Speaker 1>you know, the money is flowing through the states, and

0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.839
<v Speaker 1>I would have expected them to just be jumping for joy, uh,

0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:06.679
<v Speaker 1>you know, at the prospect of getting all this money,

0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.720
<v Speaker 1>but they actually seem really ambivalent and like, you know,

0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:13.160
<v Speaker 1>not sure what to do with it. What's going on

0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.080
<v Speaker 1>with that? Why are they saying like, we're not sure

0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.320
<v Speaker 1>how to use the money with you know what? Why?

0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:20.880
<v Speaker 1>Why is that? Well, because I think in part they

0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:22.960
<v Speaker 1>just haven't seen this much money that they have to

0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:28.279
<v Speaker 1>dole out for this particular thing. And you know, it's

0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.800
<v Speaker 1>it's it's just a new process for them to have

0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.120
<v Speaker 1>to grapple with, and it's complicated, and you know, these

0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.680
<v Speaker 1>these cities have to in these water systems have to

0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.919
<v Speaker 1>apply for this money, and they have to develop criteria

0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.600
<v Speaker 1>for that it's it's a it's a pretty significant bureaucratic process,

0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:47.560
<v Speaker 1>potentially speaking to the bureaucratic processes. Actually, our colleague Stephen

0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:51.080
<v Speaker 1>Lee actually just reported on a report from the Inspector

0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:55.479
<v Speaker 1>General uh saying that EPA's process for doling out money

0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:58.880
<v Speaker 1>is not strong enough. So the Inspector General is saying

0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:03.680
<v Speaker 1>more bureaucracy, more red tape. Meanwhile, the it sounds like

0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:06.000
<v Speaker 1>the agency is really you know, under the gun to

0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:09.599
<v Speaker 1>get this money out and to accomplish this this goal

0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:13.480
<v Speaker 1>that has eluded you know, the agency for so long.

0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:14.800
<v Speaker 1>You know they've been trying to do this for so

0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.560
<v Speaker 1>for such a long time. That's right, and you know,

0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:22.040
<v Speaker 1>it's it's it's gonna be interesting to watch it unfold

0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.200
<v Speaker 1>over the next year or so, and it's it's gonna

0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:39.200
<v Speaker 1>take a while for all of this to playoff. Yeah, So, Paige,

0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.080
<v Speaker 1>I wanted to talk to you about the human angle here,

0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.240
<v Speaker 1>because it's not just a matter of you know, allocating money,

0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:48.039
<v Speaker 1>it's also allocating people in man hours. And you just

0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:52.240
<v Speaker 1>did a story about how this could be you know,

0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.680
<v Speaker 1>even tougher because we just don't have the plumbers, we

0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:57.919
<v Speaker 1>don't have the construction workers who are able to do this.

0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:00.320
<v Speaker 1>What's going on here? Yeah, I mean part of this

0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.200
<v Speaker 1>is sort of if you step back, I think that

0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:04.839
<v Speaker 1>so many employers are struggling at this moment in time

0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:09.400
<v Speaker 1>to just fill open positions, right, So, I mean, you

0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:13.400
<v Speaker 1>have this huge influx of cash and this potential for investment.

0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.200
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, I mean, if you don't have the people

0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.360
<v Speaker 1>to kind of step up and you know, step up

0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.840
<v Speaker 1>to finish the job, then that could be an issue.

0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.880
<v Speaker 1>So I did reach out to a number of unions

0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:28.720
<v Speaker 1>and some other folks who are kind of watching these

0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:33.080
<v Speaker 1>these employment numbers pretty closely, and you know, unions like

0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.960
<v Speaker 1>the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing

0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.960
<v Speaker 1>and Pipe Fitting Industry the UA. I mean, they've said

0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:43.640
<v Speaker 1>that they can step up and meet the increased demand.

0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:47.240
<v Speaker 1>But there are also some other doubts about you know,

0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:51.360
<v Speaker 1>actual employment numbers in the construction industry. So I chatted

0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:55.480
<v Speaker 1>with some economists, for example, who said that workers construction

0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:59.440
<v Speaker 1>workers are finding jobs and other sectors or dropping out

0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.240
<v Speaker 1>of the workforce. So part of it as well is

0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.680
<v Speaker 1>we'll have to see how long this takes. Right, Like

0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:09.920
<v Speaker 1>the COVID nineteen pandemic is obviously still in full swing

0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.240
<v Speaker 1>at this moment in time, and there's still very much

0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.600
<v Speaker 1>a labor shortage. But we'll kind of have to see

0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:20.120
<v Speaker 1>if the if there are you know, union sponsored workforce

0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.720
<v Speaker 1>training for example, might that could help fill the gap

0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:28.400
<v Speaker 1>for some of this demand. And yeah, we'll have to see. Yeah,

0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:29.640
<v Speaker 1>that was one of the things I was going to

0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:33.480
<v Speaker 1>ask you about, is that, you know, ripping pipes out

0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.679
<v Speaker 1>of the ground and installing new pipes, that's not unskilled labor,

0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.120
<v Speaker 1>Like that's something that you actually need a lot of

0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.800
<v Speaker 1>expertise to be able to do. Is that One of

0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.800
<v Speaker 1>the things that is making it harder here is that

0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:47.840
<v Speaker 1>this is not just a matter of a labor shortage.

0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:52.880
<v Speaker 1>It's a matter of labor shortage of this particular skill set. Definitely,

0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.679
<v Speaker 1>And I mean I think that is I think all

0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.840
<v Speaker 1>labor is skilled labor. But just to be clear, the

0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:04.800
<v Speaker 1>you know, yeah, there's definitely I chatted with a senior

0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.360
<v Speaker 1>economics advisor from Cornell University and she said that, yeah,

0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.520
<v Speaker 1>I mean, this is why a really clear workforce development

0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.280
<v Speaker 1>system is needed to kind of respond to this demand.

0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:20.079
<v Speaker 1>And unions. When I spoke with the UA, they said that,

0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, they are prepared to meet that demand because

0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:26.840
<v Speaker 1>they do have these sort of apprenticeship programs already established

0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.200
<v Speaker 1>and you know, the infrastructure, but infrastructure is there if

0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.600
<v Speaker 1>you will. So they said that they can sort of respond.

0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.199
<v Speaker 1>But I do think it's still quite early to kind

0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:39.720
<v Speaker 1>of make an assessment of whether, you know, whether the

0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.600
<v Speaker 1>they will sort of rise to the challenge, or if

0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:46.480
<v Speaker 1>if there may be some sort of shortage of workers.

0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:49.240
<v Speaker 1>But as it stands right now, it's it's it's looking

0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:51.760
<v Speaker 1>a little tight. Yeah, I mean, I just got the

0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.439
<v Speaker 1>sense from your story that the UA folks, the labor

0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.600
<v Speaker 1>union folks that you spoke to, we're putting a really

0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.719
<v Speaker 1>rosy spin on this, you know, And you're right, it's

0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.840
<v Speaker 1>way too early to say. I mean, maybe you know,

0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.320
<v Speaker 1>they will be able to sort of train up enough

0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:11.080
<v Speaker 1>people to handle these billions of dollars in federal funding.

0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.600
<v Speaker 1>But you know, is that fair to say that they're

0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.160
<v Speaker 1>being a little overly optimistic or is it just you know,

0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:21.079
<v Speaker 1>too soon, really too soon to say. Yeah, I really

0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.480
<v Speaker 1>think it's too soon to say at this point in time. Honestly,

0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:26.400
<v Speaker 1>I think that you know, just if you look at

0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.360
<v Speaker 1>the numbers of the of I mean, if you look

0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.960
<v Speaker 1>at the uas sort of you know, their numbers of

0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:37.240
<v Speaker 1>the members over time, they've sort of stayed consistent. It's

0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:41.000
<v Speaker 1>not like they've drastically signed up a number of new members,

0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:45.400
<v Speaker 1>but they also haven't lost you know, thousands of folks.

0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:49.360
<v Speaker 1>So if that's any indication, then it's sort of like

0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:54.120
<v Speaker 1>consistent in their membership. I do think it's just sort

0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:56.880
<v Speaker 1>of too early to tell, to be honest. So finally,

0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:59.839
<v Speaker 1>I want to finish with Bobby, you know, and take

0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:02.160
<v Speaker 1>a big step back here and talk about the environmental

0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:06.640
<v Speaker 1>implications of all of this. You know, we're ten years

0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.480
<v Speaker 1>on from the Flint water crisis, where you know, lead

0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:15.160
<v Speaker 1>poisoning affected the entire city of Flint, Michigan. We've had

0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.280
<v Speaker 1>three presidents now who have you know, made this a priority?

0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.360
<v Speaker 1>President Obama, Trump, and now Biden. Are we heading in

0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.040
<v Speaker 1>the right direction? Are we actually making progress toward dealing

0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.319
<v Speaker 1>with lead in our drinking water systems? Or are we

0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.959
<v Speaker 1>pun very much non intended treading water here. I think that,

0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, as far as I'm aware, the EPA and

0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.040
<v Speaker 1>Congress have never allocated this bunch of money to lead

0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:47.120
<v Speaker 1>pipe replacement. So I mean that's that's that's progress. You know,

0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:52.480
<v Speaker 1>how quickly the lead pipes are actually replaced, you know,

0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.400
<v Speaker 1>it is another question, but I mean the fact is

0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:59.800
<v Speaker 1>that lead pipes aren't used anymore, and so the faster

0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:03.640
<v Speaker 1>they're replaced, the more progress progress we make on that.

0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.439
<v Speaker 1>There are other water infrastructure issues that have to be addressed,

0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.480
<v Speaker 1>and the and the EPA and Congress are both working

0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.640
<v Speaker 1>on that, and they've allocated other you know, drinking water

0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:16.840
<v Speaker 1>funds you know, for other infrastructure upgrades. These are systems

0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:20.080
<v Speaker 1>that have been neglected for many, many years, and they're

0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:23.920
<v Speaker 1>finally getting some funding. There's lots of complications with that,

0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:28.120
<v Speaker 1>but nonetheless, I think it does represent progress. That's a

0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.400
<v Speaker 1>really good point. And it's actually an aspect of this

0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.079
<v Speaker 1>that I hadn't thought about before that the problems not

0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.520
<v Speaker 1>necessarily getting worse, you know, in that we're not having

0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.360
<v Speaker 1>cities installing lead pipes and having to rip them out

0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.000
<v Speaker 1>installing it. It's like these this is a legacy problem

0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.080
<v Speaker 1>that we're just tay is taking a really really long

0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.720
<v Speaker 1>time to fix. But here's the thing, like, you know,

0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.480
<v Speaker 1>p fast is another example of of you know, one

0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.240
<v Speaker 1>of the infrastructure challenges we face some cities. I mean,

0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.199
<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of p fasts in in in groundwater

0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.720
<v Speaker 1>we've discovered, right, and so now cities are having to

0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:02.880
<v Speaker 1>come back and realize that they're going to have to

0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.839
<v Speaker 1>have other infrastructure upgrades in order to filter that out

0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.120
<v Speaker 1>if they want or if regulations come along requiring them too.

0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:15.000
<v Speaker 1>So you know, it's we made progress in some areas

0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.280
<v Speaker 1>and then we realized that we have to make even

0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.679
<v Speaker 1>more progress in other areas as well to ensure that

0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:23.520
<v Speaker 1>we have clean drinking water. All right, Well, that was

0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:28.319
<v Speaker 1>Bobby McGill and Paige Smith speaking with us about lead pipes.

0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.120
<v Speaker 1>Thank you both for joining us, and we will talk

0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:35.680
<v Speaker 1>to you again soon. Thank you. Thanks see us, And

0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:37.720
<v Speaker 1>that's it for today's episode of Parts per Billion. If

0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:39.960
<v Speaker 1>you want more environmental news, check us out on Twitter.

0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.000
<v Speaker 1>We use the handle at environment just that at environment,

0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.199
<v Speaker 1>I'm at David B. Schultz If you want to chat

0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:50.319
<v Speaker 1>with me, that's b as in burr it's cold outside.

0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.120
<v Speaker 1>Today's episode of Parts for Abilion was produced by myself,

0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.000
<v Speaker 1>David Schultz. Parts for Bilion was created by Jessica Coombs

0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.320
<v Speaker 1>and Rachel Dagle and is edited by Rebecca Baker and

0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:03.440
<v Speaker 1>Chuck McCutcheon. Producer is Josh Block. Thank you everyone for listening.

0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.040
<v Speaker 1>You don't need to be a judge to be interested

0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.600
<v Speaker 1>in our nation's laws and legal institutions, just like you

0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:12.560
<v Speaker 1>don't need to have a law degree to be curious

0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.960
<v Speaker 1>about the inner workings of courts, law firms, and law schools.

0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:19.200
<v Speaker 1>That's where we come in. My name's Adam Allington and

0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm the host of Uncommon Law, a podcast from the

0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:26.640
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Industry Group. Uncommon Law is where public policy, storytelling,

0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.760
<v Speaker 1>and the law are combined. We explore big topics ranging

0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:35.320
<v Speaker 1>from tech policy to free speech, to race and gender diversity.

0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:37.720
<v Speaker 1>So please give us a listen. You can subscribe and

0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:41.400
<v Speaker 1>download today. Just search for Uncommon Law wherever you get

0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.640
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts. Thanks so much,