Bill Text: NJ A3447 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires BPU to conduct inventory of lead-covered cables and develop plan for removal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-01 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A3447 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3447-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires BPU to conduct inventory of lead-covered cables and develop plan for removal.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning lead-covered cables and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Within one year after the date of enactment of this act, the Board of Public Utilities shall undertake, or cause to be undertaken, an inventory of lead-covered cables in the State. The inventory shall identify lead-containing aerial and buried cables, both on land and below water, for both cable still in use for the provision of telecommunications service and cable that is no longer being used but has yet to be removed. The inventory shall indicate: whether the cable is copper or fiber; whether it is aerial or buried, and if buried, if it is below water; the municipality the cable is located in; the street name where the cable is located; the length of the cable; the closest intersecting landmarks at the beginning and end of the cable; and any other information deemed appropriate by the board in order to physically locate and inspect the cable.
b. Following the completion of the inventory pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the Board of Public Utilities shall develop a plan for the removal of lead-covered cables. In developing the removal plan, the board shall prioritize the removal of those cables located in proximity to schools, playgrounds, hospitals, and other areas containing vulnerable individuals and those cables located under or adjacent to water. The plan shall consider: the safety of the individuals who handle the cables; potential impacts on the environment from the removal of the cables as well as the potential impacts of allowing the cables to remain in place; the age and composition of the cables; the geographic location of the cables; and customer needs.
c. The Board of Public Utilities shall undertake, or cause to be undertaken, the removal of lead-covered cables in accordance with the removal plan developed pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
d. The Board of Public Utilities shall submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, documenting the status of the removal plan, including any associated costs and challenges associated with complying with the provisions of this section.
e. The Board of Public Utilities shall include, with its annual budget request, a request for funds sufficient to implement the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to conduct an inventory of lead-covered cables in the State. Following completion of the inventory, the BPU would be required to develop and implement a plan for their removal.
The use of lead alloys in telecommunications cables began in the 1880s as a way to sheath and protect copper wires from exposure to the elements. The industry began to discontinue the use of new lead-covered cables in the 1950s, after developing a new type of sheathing. Some legacy lead-covered cables remain in service today, providing customer voice and data services, including 911 and other emergency services. This issue was recently highlighted in an investigation reported in the Wall Street Journal in July 2023 asserting that lead-sheathed cables present an environmental and public health hazard due to the release of lead in the environment. According to sampling conducted for the Wall Street Journal investigation, more than 350 bus stops in New Jersey are next to or beneath aerial lead-covered cables, based on an analysis of NJ Transit data, and there are 64 schools in the State where aerial lead cables have been identified.
