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For Immediate Release
January, 14 2021, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Erin Fitzgerald, efitzgerald@earthjustice.org
EPA Challenged for Shirking Duty to Protect Communities From Lead
Civil rights and environmental groups sue to ensure protections for millions who rely on lead-piped drinking water.
WASHINGTON
Today, a coalition of civil rights and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice sued the EPA for failing to protect children's health and the safety of the drinking water of millions of people. The lawsuit comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final -- but flawed --Lead and Copper Rule Revisions in the Federal Register.
The lawsuit comes a day after ex-governor Rick Snyder and eight other former Michigan officials were chard for the 2014 Flint water crisis.
The Lead and Copper rule, or LCR, regulates the control and monitoring of lead in drinking water. These revisions dramatically slow down the rate at with lead pipes are required to be replaced. The new rule also allows small public water systems required to replace lead service lines to avoid replacing them altogether, even if those systems continually exceed the lead action level.
The NAACP, United Parents Against Lead, Newburgh Clean Water Project, and the Sierra Club are the groups challenging the revised rule. They are calling on the Biden administration to immediately start a new rulemaking process that follows the law, science and principles of environmental justice. The Natural Resources Defense Council filed a similar but separate lawsuit.
"These revisions ensure that generations of children will continue to be poisoned by lead-tainted water," said Queen Zakia Shabazz, executive director of United Parents Against Lead, a nonprofit from Richmond, Virginia. "Lead poisoned children grow up to be lead poisoned adults. It's past time for the EPA to revise the Lead and Copper Rule in favor of children's health and stop childhood lead poisoning once and for all."
Most of the lead found in drinking water comes from lead service lines, according to the EPA. Lead service lines naturally corrode when water flows through them. EPA estimates there are as many as 10 million lead service lines in the country, and researchers estimate lead pipes serve as many as 22 million people. Communities of color are disproportionately affected. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 11.2 percent of African American children and 4 percent of Mexican American children are poisoned by lead.
Still, EPA's new lead rule requires water systems to replace only three percent of lead service lines annually after certain lead action level exceedances, in contrast to the seven percent rate in the former rule.
"This rule is a major disappointment," said Suzanne Novak, Earthjustice attorney. "Communities exposed to dangerous levels of lead in water expected the new rule to focus on removing lead pipes from the ground, the actual remedy to keep families safe. Instead, the new rule took a huge step backwards by slowing down the replacement rate of lead service lines. The Trump administration is failing the country once again, this time as it walks out the door. Children will continue to be poisoned, with no end in sight."
There is no safe level of lead exposure for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even in small amounts, lead can cause irreversible brain damage in children, learning disabilities, and impaired hearing.
"EPA had the opportunity to instate a lead rule that would truly protect families, especially children. Instead, it's putting our most vulnerable at risk, exposing them to serious irreversible brain and nervous system development issues, and potentially life-long learning and behavioral challenges," says Gabrielle Hill of the Newburgh Clean Water Project, a Hudson Valley New York community organization. "EPA must act on the health data and take appropriate action to protect the future of communities like ours, which have experienced multiple toxic exposures."
"Lead in water is still a major problem for families and their children all over the country. Yet EPA today finalized a lead rule that doctors and scientists say falls short," said Dalal Aboulhosn, Sierra Club Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy and Legal. "If this EPA is serious about stopping children from drinking lead-tainted water, then it can't slow down the rate at which lead pipes are required to be replaced."
Groups say the Biden administration must hold required public hearings in affected communities; and put out a rule that includes a maximum contaminant level for lead, monitor and control for lead using best scientific practices, publicize the constant risk of exposure to lead in water and the limitations of the LCR, and require the expedited removal of all lead service lines across the country. They are also calling on Congress to prioritize full lead service line replacement by water utilities in infrastructure packages and other legislation to ensure that disadvantaged, low-income communities don't foot the bill for contaminated water.
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities.
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To Threat of Troop Deployment, Minneapolis Mayor Vows City 'Will Not Be Intimidated'
"The best way to get safety is not to have an influx of even more agents and, in this case, military in Minneapolis," Mayor Jacob Frey said.
Jan 18, 2026
Responding to the news that the Department of Defense had put 1,500 active duty troops on standby for a potential deployment to Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had a clear message for the Trump administration: "We will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government."
"This act was clearly designed to intimidate the people of Minneapolis, and here's the thing: We're not going to be intimidated," Frey told Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning.
The news of the troop deployment was first broken by ABC and confirmed to the Washington Post late Saturday night. It came two days after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act due to widespread protests against a major federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities that has already led to the death of legal observer Renee Good and the shooting and injuring of Venezuelan migrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
It is not certain that the soldiers, who belong to two Alaska-based infantry battalions, will actually be deployed. The White House said it was typical for the Pentagon “to be prepared for any decision the President may or may not make.”
"I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government."
However, if they were deployed, Frey told Tapper it would be "ridiculous."
He noted that there are already around 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in the area compared with around 600 local police officers.
"The best way to get safety is not to have an influx of even more agents and, in this case, military in Minneapolis," he said.
Frey told Tapper that the situation that Minneapolis found itself in was "bizarre."
"I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government," he said.
However, he praised the response of ordinary people in the city: "One of the beautiful things that's taking place is that the people here in Minneapolis are not just resisting. They're standing up. They're standing up for their neighbors, they're loving people, they're making sure that they've got a ride to the grocery store, a safe walk to their car. They're making sure that they have those basic necessities that they need, because we've got a whole lot of people who are afraid to go outside at the risk of getting torn apart from their own families."
"In the face of a whole lot of adversity, I'm so proud to be from Minneapolis. I'm so proud to be the mayor of this awesome city with these extraordinary people," Frey said.
The news of the potential military deployment came the day after the revelation that the Department of Justice was investigating Frey as well as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over their criticism of federal immigration enforcement operations in the Minneapolis area.
Frey also spoke out against this second form of intimidation.
"If it were true, the targeting would be the product of performing one of the most basic responsibilities and obligations that I have as mayor, which is to speak on behalf of our great city, speak on behalf of our constituents," Frey told Tapper. "And that the federal government would be going after me because of that speech should be deeply concerning not just for people in Minneapolis, but for anybody throughout the country."
In addition to a potential federal deployment of the military, Gov. Walz also ordered the Minnesota National Guard to mobilize on Saturday.
"They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property, and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully," the Minnesota Department of Public Safety wrote on Facebook.
Tapper asked Frey if he was worried about a situation in which ICE, CBP, and the military might end up physically fighting with the Minnesota National Guard and local law enforcement.
"We can't have that in America," Frey answered, adding that he hoped the judicial system would step up to restrict the Trump administration from invading American cities. Already, a federal judge has ruled that ICE must not retaliate against, pepper spray, or detain peace protesters and observers in Minnesota, and there are other lawsuits pending against the deployment.
Frey also appealed to people across the country.
"I know that you love your town, regardless of where you are," he said. "And just imagine what it would feel like if you suddenly had an administration deployment of troops, of agents come into you city by the thousands, vastly outnumber the police department, and cause chaos on your streets."
Frey added that there was a very simple way for ICE to resolve the situation.
"If the goal here is to create peace and safety and calm, there's a very clear antidote here, which is leave," he said.
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'Insane': Trump Threatens 8 Allies With New Tariffs for Opposing Greenland Takeover
"Trump has no legal authority to tariff American allies to bully them into backing his brainless attempt to seize Greenland," one US lawmaker said.
Jan 17, 2026
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced new tariffs on eight European countries that oppose his plan to annex Greenland hours after thousands of people gathered in Denmark and Greenland to declare, "Greenland is not for sale."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would face a 10% tariff beginning February 1, which would jump to a 25% tariff on June 1.
"This Tariff will be due and payable until such a time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," Trump wrote from his West Palm Beach, Florida gulf course.
The announcement seemed to deliver on a threat the president made Friday to impose tariffs on countries "if they don't go along with" his designs on Greenland. It also ignored the sentiment of the thousands of people who marched in Denmark and Greenland's capitals wearing red hats with the slogan, "Make America Go Away."
"You cannot buy Greenland, you cannot buy a people. It is so wrong, disrespectful to think that you can purchase a country and a people."
“We are demonstrating against American statements and ambitions to annex Greenland,” Camilla Siezing, chairwoman of the Inuit Association, said in a statement. “We demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination.”
Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut—an association of Greenlanders who live in Denmark that helped organize the demonstrations—said at the Copenhagen protest, as Deutsche Welle reported: "We are also sending a message to the world that you all must wake up... Greenland and the Greenlanders have involuntarily become the front in the fight for democracy and human rights."
One Greenlander who attended the Copenhagen protest was Naja Mathilde Rosing.
"America has a sense of feeling they can steal land from the Native Americans, steal land from the Indigenous Hawaiian people, steal land from the Indigenous Inuit from Alaska," she told NPR. "You cannot buy Greenland, you cannot buy a people. It is so wrong, disrespectful to think that you can purchase a country and a people."
Protests were also held in the Danish cities of Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense.
Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark with a population of nearly 57,000, 85% of whom do not want to join the United States.
Greenland's Prime Minister prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined a crowd of 5,000 in the island's capital city of Nuuk, where people carried signs reading, "Greenland is already great," and "Yankee, go home," according to CNN.
“We have seen what (Trump) does in Venezuela and Iran," one protester, named Patricia, told CNN. "He doesn’t respect anything. He just takes what he thinks is his… He misuses his power.”
Yet Trump did not acknowledge the feelings of Greenlanders in his post on Saturday. Instead, he was focused on the actions of eight European countries that have sent small numbers of troops to the island, accusing them of "playing this very dangerous game."
The leaders of the eight countries and the European Union pushed back against Trump's threats.
French President Emmanuel Macron likened Trump's designs on Greenland to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations," he wrote on social media. "Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld. It is in this spirit that I will engage with our European partners."
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson posted: "We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote: "Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty."
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, meanwhile, said Trump's tariff announcement came "as a surprise," noting that it followed a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week, which he described as "constructive."
Trump's latest tariff threat also drew criticism from US lawmakers.
"To threaten Denmark—and now six other NATO allies—in a crusade to take Greenland threatens to blow up the NATO alliance that has kept Americans safe and destroy our standing in the world as a trustworthy ally," wrote Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Denmark that coincided with Saturday's protests.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said: "Trump has no legal authority to tariff American allies to bully them into backing his brainless attempt to seize Greenland. This is against the law, it’s a total disaster for America, and Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court need to find their spines and stop it."
" Donald Trump wants to be Tariff King, but he's nothing more than a tax troll with no legal authority to levy these tariffs, no support from the American people, and no support from his allies."
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) also called on Congress to act.
"Trump is raising tariffs on eight NATO allies because they rightly support Denmark's sovereignty in Greenland. Destroying our closest alliances to take Greenland—which Denmark lets us use freely already—is insane. Congress must say NO," Sanders wrote on social media.
Murray posted: "To my Republican colleagues: ENOUGH. It's time for the Senate to vote to block these tariffs and to block the use of military force against Greenland. Trump is tearing apart our alliances in real time and the economic and diplomatic consequences will be catastrophic."
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) also appealed to Republican colleagues, and pointed out that it would ultimately be Americans who would pay higher prices as a result of the tariffs.
"Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us," he wrote on social media. "Let that sink in. And now Trump is setting tariffs on our allies, making you pay more to try to get territory we don’t need. The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction. Republicans in Congress need to stand up to Trump."
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) posted a video from the streets of Boston, evoking the spirit of the American Revolution.
"Donald Trump wants to be Tariff King, but he's nothing more than a tax troll with no legal authority to levy these tariffs, no support from the American people, and no support from his allies. Enough is enough," he said.
Ultimately, Trump's ability to play "tariff king" will be determined by the Supreme Court, which could rule as soon as next week on the legality of many of his tariffs.
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Judge Rules ICE Cannot Retaliate Against Minnesota Protesters
"This is an important preliminary win for all Minnesotans exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest and witness," state Attorney General Keith Ellison said.
Jan 17, 2026
Federal officers cannot retaliate against, detain, or attack people who are peacefully protesting and observing immigration enforcement operations in the Minneapolis area, a federal judge ruled on Friday.
The ruling comes a little more than a week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed legal observer Renee Nicole Good, supercharging protests against an immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities that the Department of Homeland Security claims is its largest ever.
"This is an important preliminary win for all Minnesotans exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest and witness," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote on social media in response to the ruling. "Thanks and congratulations to the ACLU and the plaintiffs for standing strong for this bedrock principle."
The ruling was issued by Biden appointee and US District Judge Kate Menendez, who is based in Minneapolis. It restricts federal officers involved in "Operation Metro Surge"—an immigration-enforcement blitz in the Minneapolis area—from retaliating against, arresting or detaining, or targeting with nonlethal munitions such as pepper spray anyone "engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity," including observing ICE operations.
"We are relieved that in Tincher v. Noem et al. the court has issued a preliminary injunction. The ACLU-MN is hopeful that it will prevent further First Amendment violations like the ones that have been harming Minnesotans since the start of 'Operation Metro Surge.'"
Menendez further stipulated that people could not be detained for following ICE and other immigration enforcers with their vehicles if they were not interfering with the agents.
"The act of safely following Covered Federal Agents at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop," Menendez said.
The ruling is a preliminary injunction in response to Tincher v. Noem et al., a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU-MN) in December 2025 on behalf of six community members who said their constitutional rights were violated by ICE in response to their protests.
Plaintiff Susan Tincher, for example, wrote that she was arrested merely for driving to the place where an ICE operation was taking place.
“I was on a public street,” Tincher in a statement. “I did not cross any lines. I did not interfere with anything. I did not disobey an order. I asked a single question–‘are you ICE?’–and almost immediately, officers rushed me, grabbed me, and slammed me face-first into the snow.”
Since the lawsuit was filed, ICE activity in the Twin Cities continued to escalate, culminating with an influx of 2,000 agents on January 6 and the shooting of Good the next day.
On January 8, the day after Good's murder, the plaintiffs' lawyers sent an emergency letter to the judge urging action.
"Thousands of peaceful observers and protesters turned out in the streets of the Twin Cities in the wake of Ms. Good’s murder," the letter reads in part. "Peaceful observers and protesters turned out again today, they will turn out again tomorrow, and they will continue turning out every day until Operation Metro Surge is over. These Minnesotans who are peacefully exercising their core constitutional rights to speak and gather continue to be met with unconstitutional and terrifying violence at the hands of federal agents on a daily basis, including unwarranted pepper spraying and unfounded arrests... And things appear to be getting worse, not better: Even more federal agents are being deployed to Minnesota at this very moment."
The ACLU-MN applauded the fact that Menendez had moved to restrain ICE.
"We are relieved that in Tincher v. Noem et al. the court has issued a preliminary injunction. The ACLU-MN is hopeful that it will prevent further First Amendment violations like the ones that have been harming Minnesotans since the start of 'Operation Metro Surge,'" the group wrote on social media.
Beyond Good's killing, the ruling follows several other high-profile incidents of ICE violence in Minnesota, including a nonlethal shooting of a man at a traffic stop and the hospitalization of three children after ICE tear-gassed the van they were driving in.
Menendez's decision came the same day that news broke that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice was investigating local leaders who had criticized ICE activity, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
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