DeKalb County presented its annual Lead and Copper Rule notification plan and inventory update to the Public and Infrastructure commission, telling commissioners it has not identified any confirmed lead service lines but currently lists about 65,713 service lines as confirmed non-lead and roughly 150,000 unknown laterals.

"From the total of service lines, we have identified 65,000, 7 13 that have no lead lines," the compliance lead said during the presentation, adding that roughly 150,000 laterals remain unknown. Staff explained that, under Georgia Environmental Protection Division guidance, a lateral is considered "unknown" if the county cannot verify at least half its material and that the unknown designation is conservative to protect residents.

Staff proposed sending an optional bilingual (English/Spanish) cover letter alongside the mandatory federal notice to residents whose laterals remain unknown, and distributing a two-piece service-line verification flyer as a water bill insert or separate mailer. The mandatory notice will be the one county officials must report to EPD; the cover letter is intended to explain the program in plain language and encourage residents to use the county's web-based self-identification tool.

Commissioners asked about sequencing and outreach. Director Wells and compliance staff said the cover letter and mandatory notice would go out together and that staff aim to mail materials within two weeks to allow reconciliation before the county's December deadline. They said contractors would be solicited, and grant funding (including federal buckets for lead-service-line replacement) is available to replace confirmed lead lines once identified.

Staff acknowledged the 2027 deadline to present a final inventory and said the county will request extensions and provide remediation plans to regulators if unknowns remain at the deadline; penalties typically arise only where there is clear intent not to comply. Commissioners requested targeted communications by ZIP code; staff said they would work with GIS, the tax assessor and county communications to produce ZIP-level lists to prioritize outreach.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the presentation; commissioners asked staff for edits and asked to see the proposed cover letter before mailings.