AT&T Halts Plans to Remove Lead Cables in Lake Tahoe

AT&T said Tuesday that it will halt plans to remove two lead-clad cables in Lake Tahoe that it had previously agreed to remove as part of a 2021 settlement and that it will test lead levels at other locations where it has lead-clad cables around the country.

The telecom giant said in a court filing that it wanted to allow for additional testing for lead and “maintain the Lake Tahoe cables in place while working cooperatively with regulators and other stakeholders on an appropriate risk assessment.”

A Wall Street Journal investigation recently revealed that AT&T, Verizon and other telecom companies have left behind more than 2,000 toxic lead cables on poles, under waterways and in the soil across the U.S. Journal testing near such cables showed that dozens of spots registered lead levels exceeding EPA safety guidelines. 

In a memo sent Tuesday to employees, AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey said the company expects an extended public discussion about how to manage lead-clad cables and estimated that “these cables represent less than 10% of our copper footprint of roughly 2 million sheathed miles.”

“We feel strongly that The Journal’s reporting conflicts with what independent experts have long stated about the safety of lead-clad telecom cables and our own environmental testing,” Stankey wrote. “If there’s any new scientific data, we’ll work cooperatively with all stakeholders to address new safety concerns.”

Verizon has said that it is “taking these concerns regarding lead-sheathed cables very seriously” and that only a small percentage of its existing network includes lead-sheathed cable. 

Since the articles were published earlier this month, lawmakers and environmental organizations have called on the Environmental Protection Agency and the companies to ensure Americans are safe from any lead released by the cables. Telecom stocks have slumped as investors and analysts have raised worries about prolonged litigation and potential removal and remediation costs. 

In 2021, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, an environmental group, sued AT&T to remove two lead-clad cables in Lake Tahoe. In a 2021 settlement, in which AT&T didn’t admit wrongdoing, the company agreed to remove the cables at a cost of up to $1.5 million. 

AT&T said in Tuesday’s court filing that it is taking new actions in light of the Journal’s reporting, including “working with union partners to add a voluntary testing program for any employee who works with or has worked with lead-clad cables,” at the company’s expense and on company time. AT&T said this expands on the company’s previous practice of providing blood-lead testing to those involved in lead-clad cable removal. 

The company also said that it is conducting additional testing beyond Lake Tahoe, including in locations identified in the Journal’s articles. Verizon also said it is conducting testing at various sites where the Journal found elevated lead levels.

AT&T said it is “performing in-person site visits where lead-clad cables are present to inspect their condition and determine if any action is necessary.”

AT&T said in the court filing that it had previously agreed to remove the Lake Tahoe cables as part of a voluntary resolution to avoid the expense of litigation. It said that now it believes it should leave the cables in place “so the safety of the cables may be fully adjudicated.” 

The company also raised questions in Tuesday’s court filing about the Journal’s reporting methods and findings, which found higher concentrations of lead than the company’s own testing in Lake Tahoe. AT&T erroneously said in its filing that the Journal’s testing was funded by the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. 

EDF didn’t pay for testing used in the Journal’s analysis and the Journal selected locations to test based on government permit records and additional reporting. The Journal worked with Marine Taxonomic Services and other experts on sampling and selected independent laboratories for analysis of the samples. MTS has received guidance and funding from EDF. 

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at [email protected]