The agreement provides assistance to michigan department of environment, great lakes and energy to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care…

This $1,930,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program (CFDA 66.444) provides assistance to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (MDEGLE) to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care centers in Michigan.

The key activities include: 1) Initial testing of 250 of the most vulnerable child care facilities and schools, 2) Follow-up/post-remediation testing as needed, 3) Testing at additional priority schools and child care facilities as funds and time allow, 4) Sharing of testing results with the school or child care community, and 5) Implementing a remediation program to reduce lead exposure in drinking water, including providing point-of-use faucet filters. The grant also includes $470,000 in sub-awards to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) for sampling and lab analysis, as well as $300,000 in grants to schools and child care centers for fixture replacement or filters.

The agreement provides assistance to michigan department of environment, great lakes and energy to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care centers. Specifically, the recipient will complete initial testing for 250 of the most vulnerable child care facilities and schools, follow up/post remediation testing as needed, and testing at as many additional priority schools and child care facilities as funds and time allow. Activities: the activities include: initial testing for 250 of the most vulnerable child care facilities and schools, follow up/post remediation testing as needed, testing at as many additional priority schools and child care facilities as funds and time allow. Testing results will be shared with the school or child care community as soon as possible, but no later than four weeks following the receipt of the results. A remediation program is in place that includes immediate action (removing the fixture from service) at sample sites with results above 5 parts per billion until remediation and retesting show the risk of lead exposure in drinking water has been reduced. This plan also includes the sampling post-remediation to ensure efforts to reduce lead levels were effective. Egle will work with michigan department of health and human services (MDHHS) for the distribution of point of use faucet filters as an immediate, short-term stopgap measure for faucets at high-risk locations if other immediate measures cannot be taken or until a more permanent action can be taken. Ongoing program information and updates accessible by the public will be posted on the egle website (WWW.michigan.GOV/schoolwater). Egle will be using a variety of methods to communicate and be transparent throughout this program with the goal of reaching the target audiences, including letters/fliers, presentations, email, websites, and potential press releases. Subrecipient:two subawards: pass-through grant to dhhs for sampling and lab analysis ($470,000) grants to schools and/or child care centers for fixture replacement or filters ($300,000) outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include development of a statewide marketing, outreach, and training program for lead exposure risks, lead testing in drinking water, and lead risk reduction education in schools and child care facilities. This marketing will target target vulnerable communities and populations: schools and child care programs in underserved and/or low-income communities; elementary and child care programs that primarily care for children 6 years and under; and older facilities that are more likely to contain higher risk lead containing plumbing. Deliverables also include providing grants to qualifying facilities to be reimbursed for actions taken to reduce the risk of lead exposure in drinking water. The expected outcomes include the reduction of children's exposure to lead in drinking water through implementing testing programs in schools, water quality improvement and lead exposure reduction in drinking water, and an information technology system that supports enhanced analysis of data and a public facing dashboard for transparency. The intended beneficiaries include residents of the state of michigan.