Study reveals EPA's lead and copper rule yields $9 billion in health benefits, exceeding estimates

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Lead and Copper Drinking Water Rule Revision (LCRR) costs $335 million to implement while generating $9 billion in health benefits annually—far exceeding the EPA's public statements that the LCRR generates $645 million in annual health benefits, according to a new study from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers also estimate that the LCRR generates at least $2 billion in infrastructure benefits—something the EPA has never calculated—bringing its total benefit to cost ratio to at least 35:1, compared to the EPA's stated benefit to cost ratio of 2:1.