Aqua Pennsylvania was recently joined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal, state, and local officials at an event in West Chester to celebrate over $4 million being invested by Aqua throughout parts of Chester County and discuss the importance of identifying and removing lead and galvanized service lines, protecting public health, and the federal investments expediting these efforts.
The $4 million is through a loan being administered through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As part of the celebration, officials were able to see first-hand the removal and replacement of a residential lead service line.
“We’re proud to be at the forefront of this game-changing project for our customers and we remain committed to using our expertise to get the Lead out across Pennsylvania,” said Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca. “This important work proves we’re always ready and willing to take the extra step to protect our customers. I’d like to thank PENNVEST for its partnership on this project and so many others.“
Despite their installation being banned nearly 40 years ago, there are still an estimated 9.2 million legacy lead service lines delivering water in cities and towns across the country, many of which are in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering $15 billion across the country to remove these lead pipes, in line with President Biden’s goal of removing 100% of lead service lines.
“Over the past four years, PennVEST has funded 71 projects that will, when complete, remove nearly 29,000 lead lines and lead components from water systems throughout the Commonwealth,” said Rebecca Hayden, PennVEST Project Manager for the Eastern Pennsylvania. “With significant federal funding – $268 million – and active public and private partners ready to do the work, PennVEST is honored to play a role in keeping our communities and environment safe.”
In addition to significant investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA also has several programs and initiatives to further progress to identify, remove, and replace lead service lines such as the Lead Service Line Replacement Accelerators and Get The Lead Out programs, of which the Department of Environmental Protection is a partner.
Visit the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority website to learn more about water infrastructure funding opportunities.
QVC, the owner of home shopping networks on TV and streaming, has signed a deal with USA Pickleball to bring the sport to its platforms.
In a multiyear partnership, QVC has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights of USA Pickleball, the national governing body of the sport. The deal begins with USA Pickleball’s 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships in November, which will be featured on QVC’s free streaming platform, QVC+/HSN+.
QVC will mix the shopping experience with live matchups and be the exclusive retail industry partner of USA Pickleball. The deal showcases the media industry’s continued gravitation toward live sports, which attract some of the biggest audiences on both traditional TV and streaming.
“Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America and really resonates with that demographic,” said QVC Vice President of Brand Marketing Annette Dunleavy. “We thought, what two perfect partners to come together. We wanted to partner with them to sort of bring the sport to life in a different and unique way for our audience.”
Carnegie Mellon University, considered to be the birthplace of Artificial Intelligence, was recently awarded $6 million by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to create a joint research center to test AI tools to evaluate flaws and assess trustworthiness. The rapid development of AI technologies in recent years has presented challenges to both legislation and deployment, especially for businesses. The technology has proven undeniable benefits, but also presented challenges, including concerns about data privacy and misinformation.
The CMU/NIST AI Measurement Science & Engineering Cooperative Research Center will be university wide and housed in the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. That school’s dean, Ramayya Krishnan, will serve as lead research coordinator for AIMSEC, which will collaborate with other research centers and initiatives to guideline artificial intelligence development.
“The work of the center will lead to the development of standards and tools and by filling in this critical missing piece in the nation’s emerging technologies landscape, we will be equipping American businesses, researchers, leaders and consumers to better understand and trust emerging technologies and better utilize AI tools to their full, transformative potential,” CMU president Farnham Jahanian said.