WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to replace toxic lead pipes that poison the drinking water for millions of people is an essential step to protect public health and prevent future tragedies. The National Wildlife Federation heralded the proposed rule as a necessary step to avert future crises like what communities in Flint and Benton Harbor, Mich., have endured.

“Lead is an invisible, insidious, and all-too-common poison lurking in the tap water of millions of Americans. This proposed rule from the EPA will help communities replace lead pipes and prevent future tragedies like what we have seen in placed like Flint and Benton Harbor,” said Adrienne Hollis, vice president for environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation. “Clean water is a human right, and this EPA rule will help advance that common-sense and essential idea further to becoming reality.”