The EPA will propose stricter limits on the amount of lead allowed in drinking water and begin replacing millions of lead pipes that pose a significant public health threat.
Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body and can be interfered with by lead. It poses particular dangers to children. Lead was used in pipes in the early days of the water system.
Ten million lead service lines deliver water to schools, offices, homes and day care centers. It could cost as much as $60 billion to replace them all.
The bipartisan infrastructure law signed last month by President Biden included a fraction of the amount for lead pipe replacement.
Senior administration officials said that Vice President Harris will announce on Thursday that the administration will spend the first chunk of the money on pipe replacement and to reduce the health hazard posed by lead paint.
Lead-based paint was banned in 1978 because it posed a hazard to anyone who might ingest paint chips or inhale lead in dust. There are 24 million housing units that have lead paint.
Ms. Harris is expected to give an overview of the first steps the E.P.A. and other agencies will take towards the Biden administration's goal of replacing every lead pipe and service line in the United States.
Administration officials said on Wednesday that they didn't have a time frame for replacing the lead pipes, but wanted it done as soon as possible. Environmental groups want the E.P.A. to set a deadline of 10 years.
The senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council said that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Once you remove the lead pipes from a community, they are never going back.
Health experts have long argued that lead should be removed from water supplies because of the current federal regulations.
The administrator of the E.P.A. said that the science on lead is settled. There is no safe level of exposure and it is time to remove it.
A senior official said the administration hoped to finalize the new rule by the year 2024. It is not clear what the new standard will be.
Despite opposition from environmental groups, the agency will allow a set of lead policies to take effect.
The 1991 Lead and Copper Rule, the primary regulation regarding lead in drinking water, was updated by the E.P.A. under the Trump administration. The agency did not agree with the advice of medical and scientific experts to replace all lead pipes and service lines.
The amount of time allowed for utilities to replace contaminated water systems was doubled by the E.P.A. The changes were called weak and illegal by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Biden officials told reporters on Wednesday that the Trump administration rules included some important steps, like requiring water utilities to identify and publicly report the locations of all their lead service pipes. It will go forward immediately.
