The Biden administration announced a proposal on Thursday which would require water systems across the U.S. to replace lead pipes within the next ten years, an issue which has been previously called a public health crisis by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The proposal, announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), includes a series of additional regulatory actions such as lowering the lead action level and improving sampling protocols utilized by water systems, the agency said in a statement.

The White House has made removing every lead pipe within 10 years in the United States a centerpiece of its plan to address racial disparities and environmental issues in the wake of water contamination crises in recent years from Newark, New Jersey to Flint, Michigan.

The administration announced $15 billion in funding to remove such pipes as part of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package President Joe Biden signed in November, 2021.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)