Bill Text: NH SB452 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to lead in drinking water in schools and licensed child care facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-04 - Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote 05/04/2022 House Journal 11 [SB452 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2022-SB452-Amended.html
SB 452-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
02/24/2022 0793s
03/31/2022 1268s
2022 SESSION
22-3078
08/05
SENATE BILL 452-FN
AN ACT relative to lead in drinking water in schools and licensed child care facilities.
SPONSORS: Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires schools and licensed child care facilities to test drinking water for lead and to notify parents of tests with high lead levels.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
02/24/2022 0793s
03/31/2022 1268s 22-3078
08/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT relative to lead in drinking water in schools and licensed child care facilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Licensed Child Care Facilities. RSA 485:17-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
485:17-a Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Licensed Child Care Facilities.
I. Between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2024, public and private schools and licensed child care facilities shall test a minimum of 3 rounds for the presence of lead in drinking water at all outlets at the school or facility. For purposes of this section, "outlet" means a drinking water fixture currently or reasonably expected to be used for consumption or cooking. Testing shall be in accordance with guidance from the department of environmental services. Schools and licensed child care facilities that have not tested their outlets between January 1, 2016 and the effective date of this paragraph shall initiate testing within 30 days of the effective date of this paragraph.
II. If test results obtained by a school or licensed child care center after the effective date of this paragraph demonstrate the presence of lead at a concentration that exceeds 5 parts per billion, the school or licensed child care facility shall, within 5 business days, notify parents and guardians and shall, as an interim measure, ensure that the children are provided only drinking water that meets the standard. The school or licensed child care facility shall also implement a remediation plan, as approved by the department, within 180 days of notification of parents or, in consultation with the department, as soon as practicable. The department shall review the plan and any associated submittals within 60 days of receiving them. The school or licensed child care facility shall conduct testing after remediation measures have been implemented and shall provide those results to the department of environmental services to demonstrate that lead levels do not exceed the standard.
III. Within 30 days of the effective date of this section, public and private schools and licensed child care facilities shall compare the results of testing conducted after January 1, 2016 with the 5 parts per billion standard and, in the event any such results exceed this standard, proceed with the requirements of paragraph II relative to notice, remediation, and interim measures.
IV. If 2 consecutive rounds of sampling performed after January 1, 2016 are below the 5 parts per billion standard at an outlet, further testing of the outlet shall not be required.
V. All test results, including but not limited to those obtained between January 1, 2016 and the effective date of this section, shall be provided to the department of environmental services, which shall maintain a database of results accessible to the public on the department's website.
VI. To the extent it is allowable under federal regulations, remediation funding from federal sources shall be made available to licensed child care facilities by the department of environmental services.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
22-3078
Amended 3/11/22
SB 452-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2022-0793s)
AN ACT relative to lead in drinking water in schools and licensed child care facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | $827,875 | $827,875 | $484,250 |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Drinking Water and Ground Water Trust Fund, Federal Funds | |||
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LOCAL: |
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|
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | $382,125 | $382,125 | $362,250 |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires schools and licensed child care facilities to test drinking water for lead and to notify parents of tests with high lead levels. The Department of Environmental Services provided the following information and assumptions concerning the fiscal impact of this bill:
- The bill requires that all schools and licensed child care facilities test all fixtures that are potential sources of drinking water three times between 2016 and 2024.
- The majority of these facilities have sampled once already so only two rounds of sampling are included in the Department's analysis.
- The bill would require notification to parents if the concentration of lead in water sampled from a fixture exceeds 5 parts-per-billion. The costs of notifications are not included in the analysis as they are indeterminable.
- The bill requires any fixture producing water over 5 parts-per-billion be remediated to reduce the concentration of lead below 5 parts-per-billion.
- The Department's estimates incorporate existing grant funds from the EPA for sampling cost and amounts from the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund that align with the objectives of the bill.
- The Department notes the federal infrastructure bill authorized but did not appropriate additional grant funds for federal fiscal years 2022 through 2026. If the authorizations are later funded, this fiscal analysis will to be revised.
- The Department has a federal grant to cover some of the sampling costs. It is estimated that the grant funds will be expended in FY 2024 and that public schools will incur sampling costs of $39,750 by FY 2024. This is based on the Department's current database on fixtures in schools and an estimate of schools that are not included in the database.
- Sampling will occur in FY 2023 and FY 2024, and it is assumed remediation will occur in FY 2023, FY 2024, and FY 2025.
- A full-time Environmentalist IV will be required to administer the requirements of the program in FY 2023, FY 2024, and FY 2025.
Based on the Department's current data on fixtures that are potential sources of drinking water in schools, the total remediation costs are estimated in the following table. It is assumed the costs would be incurred evenly over fiscal years FY 2023 through FY 2025.
Total Remediation Costs (To be incurred in FY 2023 through FY 2025) |
|
Faucet replacement (Estimated 3,105 @ $600 per location): | $1,863,000 |
Extensive repairs (5% of locations @ $2,000 each): | $310,500 |
Total Remediation Cost (Incurred in FY 2023 through FY 2025): | $2,173,500 |
State expenditures from the DOE Remediation Grant funded by the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund: | $1,086,750 |
Local remediation cost net of the Grant: | $1,086,750 |
The Department provided the following estimates of the costs to implement the bill:
| FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Sample Costs |
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Estimate: 24,300 samples x $15/sample x 2 rounds (1 in each year): | $364,500 | $364,500 | $0 |
Amount covered by federal grant funds State expenditure: | ($344,625) | ($344,625) | $0 |
Net sampling costs to schools: Local Cost | $19,875 | $19,875 | $0 |
Remediation Costs (See the table above) |
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|
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State expenditures from the DOE Remediation Grant funded by the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund: ($1,086,750 over 3 years) | $362,250 | $362,250 | $362,250 |
Local annual cost net of the Grant: ($1,086,750 over 3 years) | $362,250 | $362,250 | $362,250 |
Administration |
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Full-time Environmentalist IV Position (Salary, benefits, equipment & office) State Expenditure: | $121,000 | $121,000 | $122,000 |
Estimated State Expenditures: (Remediation Grant + Position Cost) | $827,875 | $827,875 | $484,250 |
Estimated Local Sampling and Remediation Costs: | $382,125 | $382,125 | $362,250 |
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services
