Bill Text: NJ A2882 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires schools and child care centers to test drinking water for lead every two years and install filters certified to reduce lead levels.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee [A2882 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2882-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Requires schools and child care centers to test drinking water for lead every two years and install filters certified to reduce lead levels.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the presence of lead in drinking water at schools and child care centers and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statues and Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in sections 1 through 3 of this act:
"Drinking water outlet" means any location where water is expected to be used for consumption or food preparation, including ice-making and hot-drink machines.
"Field blank" means an aliquot of reagent water exposed to the environment during water sample collection and processed in the laboratory as an environmental sample, in order to verify that contamination is not introduced during sample collection.
"NSF/ANSI standard" means a water treatment standard developed by the National Sanitation Foundation, International, and the American National Standards Institute.
"Other facilities" means athletic stadiums; swimming pools; any associated structures or related equipment tied to such facilities, including, but not limited to, grandstands and night field lights, greenhouses, garages, facilities used for non-instructional or non-educational purposes, and any structure, building, or facility used solely for school administration.
"School" means the governing authority of a public school district, charter school, renaissance school, jointure commission, educational services commission, approved private school for students with disabilities acting under contract to provide educational services on behalf of New Jersey public school districts, State-funded early childcare facility, or receiving school.
"School facility" means and includes any structure, building, or facility used wholly or in part for educational purposes by a school district and facilities that physically support the structures, buildings, and facilities, such as school district wastewater treatment, power generating and steam generating, including a temporary facility or other facility.
"Temporary facility" means a facility used for educating students on a temporary basis while awaiting completion of a school facilities project that will permanently house students.
2. a. A school shall conduct lead sampling and analysis at all drinking water outlets to which a student or staff member has, or may have, access, in each school facility, in conformance with the provisions of this section.
b. Lead sampling shall be conducted in accordance with a lead sampling plan, which shall include:
(1) a plumbing survey for each school facility that identifies how water enters and flows through each facility, the types of plumbing materials used in the facility, including the service lines, piping, solder, fixtures, drinking water outlets, and point-of-use treatment systems, including drinking water filters;
(2) the names and responsibilities of all individuals involved in sampling; and
(3) the following sampling procedures:
(a) samples shall be taken after water has sat undisturbed in the pipes for at least eight hours but no more than 48 hours before the sample is taken, except that 24-hour school facilities shall collect first-draw samples at drinking water outlets following a stagnation time that would likely result in the longest standing time;
(b) at least eight hours prior to sampling, signs shall be posted to indicate that water shall not be used and access to the buildings subject to the sampling shall be restricted to all but authorized staff members;
(c) existing aerators, screens, and filters shall not be replaced or removed prior to or during sampling; and
(d) all samples shall be collected in pre-cleaned, high-density polyethylene, 250 milliliter, wide-mouth, single-use, rigid sample containers that are properly labeled.
c. The analysis of a water sample shall be conducted as follows:
(1) the analysis shall be conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection to analyze for lead in drinking water;
(2) the laboratory shall use an analytical method approved pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water Act," 42 U.S.C. s.300 et al.; and
(3) the analysis shall be conducted in accordance with a quality assurance project plan, which shall be signed by the school, the certified laboratory, and the individual responsible for conducting sampling. The plan shall include the identification of analytical methods, chain of custody procedures, data validation and reporting processes, detection limits, reporting to three significant figures, field blanks, and quality control measures required by the certified method.
d. A school, or its designee, shall complete a review of final laboratory results within 72 hours of receipt. Within 24 hours after the school, or its designee, has reviewed the final laboratory results, the school shall:
(1) make the test results of all water samples publicly available at the school and on the school's Internet website; and
(2) if any results exceed a lead concentration of five parts per billion, provide written notification to the parents or guardians of all students attending the facility, facility staff, and the Department of Education. This written notification shall also be posted on the school's Internet website. The written notification shall include information regarding the health effects of lead and a description of the following:
(a) measures taken by the school to immediately end use of each drinking water outlet where lead concentration exceeds five parts per billion;
(b) any additional remedial actions taken or planned by the school; and
(c) the measures taken to ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all students and staff members at the school where the drinking water outlet is located.
e. The initial lead sampling and analysis carried out pursuant to this section shall be conducted no later than one year after the effective date of this act and no less frequently than once every two years thereafter.
3. No later than one year after the effective date of this act, a school shall install and maintain point-of-use water filters, which are certified by an accredited third-party certification body to meet NSF/ANSI standards 42 and 53, at any drinking fountain or faucet in a school facility that is regularly used by students or teachers for drinking water or food preparation. The school shall install, or cause to be installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency recommended by the manufacturer.
4. The Commissioner of Education shall adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 3 of this act.
5. As used in sections 5 through 7 of this act:
"Child care center" means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-3).
"Drinking water outlet" means any location where water is expected to be used for consumption or food preparation, including ice-making and hot-drink machines.
"Field blank" means an aliquot of reagent water exposed to the environment during water sample collection and processed in the laboratory as an environmental sample, in order to verify that contamination is not introduced during sample collection.
"NSF/ANSI standard" means a water treatment standard developed by the National Sanitation Foundation, International, and the American National Standards Institute.
6. a. The owner or operator of a child care center shall conduct lead sampling and analysis at all drinking water outlets at the child care center to which a child or staff member has, or may have, access, in conformance with the provisions of this section.
b. Lead sampling shall be conducted in accordance with a lead sampling plan, which shall include:
(1) a plumbing survey for the child care center that identifies how water enters and flows through the facility, the types of plumbing materials used in the facility, including the service lines, piping, solder, fixtures, drinking water outlets, and point-of-use treatment systems, including drinking water filters;
(2) the names and responsibilities of all individuals involved in sampling; and
(3) the following sampling procedures:
(a) samples shall be taken after water has sat undisturbed in the pipes for at least eight hours but no more than 48 hours before the sample is taken, except that 24-hour child care centers shall collect first-draw samples at drinking water outlets following a stagnation time that would likely result in the longest standing time;
(b) at least eight hours prior to sampling, signs shall be posted to indicate that water from the drinking water outlet shall not be used;
(c) existing aerators, screens, and filters shall not be replaced or removed prior to or during sampling; and
(d) all samples shall be collected in pre-cleaned, high-density polyethylene, 250 milliliter, wide-mouth, single-use, rigid sample containers that are properly labeled.
c. The analysis of a water sample shall be conducted as follows:
(1) the analysis shall be conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection to analyze for lead in drinking water;
(2) the laboratory shall use an analytical method approved pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water Act," 42 U.S.C. s.300 et al.; and
(3) the analysis shall be conducted in accordance with a quality assurance project plan, which shall be signed by the child care center, the certified laboratory, and the individual responsible for conducting sampling. The plan shall include the identification of analytical methods, chain of custody procedures, data validation and reporting processes, detection limits, reporting to three significant figures, field blanks, and quality control measures required by the certified method.
d. The owner or operator of a child care center, or its designee, shall complete a review of final laboratory results within 72 hours of receipt. Within 24 hours after the owner or operator of a child care center, or its designee, has reviewed the final laboratory results, the owner or operator shall:
(1) make the test results of all water samples publicly available at the child care center and on the child care center's Internet website; and
(2) if any results exceed a lead concentration of five parts per billion, provide written notification to the parents or guardians of all children attending the facility, facility staff, and the Department of Children and Families. This written notification shall also be posted on the child care center's Internet website. The written notification shall include information regarding the health effects of lead and a description of the following:
(a) measures taken by the child care center to immediately end use of each drinking water outlet where lead concentration exceeds five parts per billion;
(b) any additional remedial actions taken or planned by the child care center; and
(c) the measures taken to ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all children and staff members at the child care center where the drinking water outlet is located.
e. The initial lead sampling and analysis carried out pursuant to this section shall be conducted no later than one year after the effective date of this act and no less frequently than once every two years thereafter.
7. No later than one year after the effective date of this act, the owner or operator of a child care center shall install and maintain point-of-use water filters, which are certified by an accredited third-party certification body to meet NSF/ANSI standards 42 and 53, at any drinking fountain or faucet in the child care center that is regularly used by children or teachers for drinking water or food preparation. The owner or operator shall install, or cause to be installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency recommended by the manufacturer.
8. The Commissioner of Children and Families shall adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of sections 5 through 7 of this act.
9. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require schools and child care centers to test their drinking water for lead at least every two years, and to take certain actions if they find a lead concentration greater than five parts per billion is found. The bill would also require schools and child care centers to install filters that are certified to reduce lead levels at each drinking water fountain or faucet that is regularly used for drinking water or food preparation.
Specifically, the bill would require the governing authority of a school and the owner or operator of a child care center to test each drinking water outlet at their facilities in accordance with a lead
sampling plan. The bill would establish certain minimum requirements for the lead sampling plan, as enumerated in subsection b. of sections 2 and subsection b. of section 6 of the bill, including the requirement that samples be taken after the water supplying the outlet has sat undisturbed in the pipes for between eight hours and 48 hours. The bill would also establish certain requirements on how the analysis of the water samples is performed, as enumerated in subsection c. of sections 2 and subsection c. of section 6 of the bill, including that the analysis be conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to analyze for lead in drinking water.
Within 96 hours after a school or child care center receives the results of a lead test, it would be required to make the test results public. In addition, if any results exceed a lead concentration of 5 parts per billion, the school or child care center would be required to provide a written notification to the parents, the staff, and the Department of Education (in the case of a school) or the Department of Children and Families (in the case of a child care center). The bill would require the notification to include information regarding the health effects of lead and a description of the following:
(1) measures taken by the school or child care center to immediately end use of each drinking water outlet where lead concentration exceeds five parts per billion;
(2) any additional remedial actions taken or planned by the school or child care center; and
(3) the measures taken to ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all students, children, and staff members at the school or child care center.
The bill would also require a school or child care center to install and maintain point-of-use water filters, which are certified by an accredited third-party certification body to meet National Sanitation Foundation-American National Standards Institute standards 42 and 53, at any drinking fountain or faucet in the facility that is regularly used by students, children, or teachers for drinking water or food preparation. The bill would also require a school or child care center to install, or cause to be installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency recommended by the manufacturer.
Current regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, specifically N.J.A.C. 6A:26-12.4, require schools to conduct lead water testing in a nearly identical way to the provisions in this bill. However, this bill would require the testing to occur every two years, rather than every three years, as under current regulations. The bill would also require schools to take action if a lead concentration of five parts per billion is found. Current regulations use the federal action level for lead, which is 0.015 milligrams per liter (approximately equal to 15 parts per billion). The bill would also extend the modified testing requirements for schools to child
care centers as well, which are currently covered under substantively different regulations, adopted by the Department of Children and Families, at N.J.A.C. 3A:52-5.3.
