The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) is in the midst of revising the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and is currently holding meetings Tuesday through Thursday (Nov. 17-19, 2015) in Washington, DC. Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast Midwest Institute (NEMWI), Elin Betanzo evaluated the recommendations being offered by the National Drinking Water Advisory Council LCR Working Group (LCRWG) towards long term revisions and commended their proactive, consumer-centric approach for improving public health protection against lead exposure from drinking water in a newly published NEMWI position paper (see below).
However, the paper also seeks urgent clarifications on many of the LCRWG’s recommendations (highlighted in the document below) towards ensuring that public health protections of the LCR are actually increased and the intent of the federal law is fulfilled.
Clarifications Needed to Strengthen the Lead and Copper Rule Working Group’s Recommendations for Long Term Revisions to the Federal Lead and Copper Rule
More information on Long Term Revisions to the LCR (no relation to the analysis above): Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou’s Dissenting Opinion on the Upcoming Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) Long-Term Revisions
Elin Betanzo came to the Northeast-Midwest Institute in 2012 as a Senior Policy Analyst specializing in water quality and water infrastructure issues. She is the project lead for Toward Sustainable Water Information, a project focused on securing water data to support decision making in the Northeast-Midwest region. Prior to joining the Northeast-Midwest Institute, Elin was a hydraulic engineer and water planning manager at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission where she led water system master planning and hydraulic modeling, from source water through existing and planned infrastructure. Prior to that, Elin spent close to 10 years at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water developing and implementing regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and serving as the National Tribal Drinking Water Coordinator.
Elin holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and a Water Quality Management Certificate from Virginia Tech. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Piano Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. Elin is a Professional Engineer registered in Maryland and Virginia, and a certified water system operator. In 2014 she was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information.
Elin was born and raised in the Detroit area and currently resides in the great state of Michigan.
For more information, go here.