The agreement provides assistance to missouri department of health and senior services (DHSS) to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care…

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 awarded $468,000 to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on October 1, 2025, under the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program (CFDA 66.444) to implement voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities in low-income areas.

The recipient will conduct lead testing at schools where at least 50 percent of children receive free and reduced lunch and at Head Start facilities. Activities include establishing partnerships, educating impacted communities on lead risks and testing, and utilizing EPA's 3Ts guidance and the 2-step sampling protocol. The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, certified for lead analysis, will process and analyze collected samples following approval of a quality assurance project plan by EPA. The recipient has developed a remediation response plan addressing sample sites with results above the state action level of five parts per billion, following EPA 3Ts remediation guidance, and will conduct post-remediation sampling to verify effectiveness.

No sub-awards are included in this agreement. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, with place of performance in Missouri.

The agreement provides assistance to missouri department of health and senior services (DHSS) to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care centers. Specifically, the recipient will assist in voluntary testing for lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care facilities that are in low-income areas. This may include schools with at least 50% of the children receiving free and reduced lunch and head start facilities. IT is missouri DHSS's goal to reduce lead exposure at these facilities by testing for lead, identifying potential lead sources, and taking action. Activities:the activities include utilizing EPA's 3TS guidance to implement the initiative. This includes efforts to establish key partnerships to support the program as well as keeping the public informed. Training will include education on the risks of lead in drinking water and testing for lead to the community or surrounding residential area that is impacted by testing, as well as key partnerships to support the program. Missouri DHSS is utilizing EPA's 3TS guidance 2-step sampling protocol and the missouri state public health laboratory, which is certified to test lead in drinking water to process and analyze samples collected under this program. No sampling or analysis will be conducted until a quality assurance project plan is submitted and approved by the environmental protection agency (EPA). Missouri has developed a plan for responding to results of testing conducted and addressing potential elevated lead where necessary. Responses to results will follow remediation recommendations in the 3TS guidance. The initiative includes action at the sample sites with results above the state action level of five (5) parts per billion. This plan also includes the sampling post-remediation to ensure efforts to reduce lead levels were effective. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include working with the individual school and childcare facilities to develop sampling plans and conduct initial site assessments, as well as collect initial and follow-up flush samples at identified facilities. Missouri anticipates: 4,000 water samples to be collected from schools and childcare facilities. 10% of the taps tested to require additional sampling. Testing drinking fountains and faucets used for consumption by children 6 years or younger in school districts starting with low-income areas. Providing education about lead and the importance of testing to all 560 school districts and all 3,368 licensed child care facilities. DHSS will make information available to all schools and child care facilities throughout the duration of this project. The expected outcomes include schools or child care programs, unable to pay for testing, implementing a testing program and mitigating lead exposure by utilizing the 3TS toolkit in determining best action to take for remediation; the reduction of children's exposure to lead in drinking water; improvement of staff and community knowledge on lead in drinking water and other environmental harms; water quality improvement and lead exposure reduction in drinking water; and (5) establishment of routine practices such as those outlined in the 3TS guidance. Fostering sustainable partnerships at the state and local level to allow for more efficient use of resources and the exchange of information among experts in various areas of school, child care, utility, and health sectors; and the enhancement of community, parent, and teacher trust. The intended beneficiaries include the citizens of the state of missouri.