Bill Text: NJ A1252 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires public community water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A1252 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1252-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DeAngelo, Assemblywomen Swain, Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblymen Calabrese, Benson, Assemblywoman Jimenez, Assemblyman Verrelli, Assemblywomen McKnight, Lopez, Jasey, Murphy, Lampitt, Downey and Assemblyman Tully
SYNOPSIS
Requires public community water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning information on lead in drinking water and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Lead Education, Accountability, and Disclosure Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"New customer" means any residential, commercial, or institutional customer who connects, reconnects, or establishes new water service with, the public community water system after the effective date of this act.
"Public community water system" means a public water system which serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
"Public water system" means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-3).
"Service line" means the pipe, tubing, and fittings connecting a water main to an individual water meter or service connection.
3. a. The owner or operator of each public community water system required to prepare a Consumer Confidence Report pursuant to the "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996," 42 U.S.C. s.300f et al., shall include in each report additional information on: the possible sources of lead in drinking water, including, but not limited to, lead service lines, pipes, and fixtures; the health effects of lead in drinking water; and measures a customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in drinking water.
b. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish a public notice in the New Jersey Register and on its Internet website containing the additional information required to be included in the Consumer Confidence Report pursuant to this section.
c. The provisions of this section shall apply to the first Consumer Confidence Report required to be prepared after the department publishes the public notice required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and to each report prepared thereafter.
4. a. No later than 90 days after beginning water service to a new customer, the owner or operator of a public community water system shall send the new customer a notice, in writing, containing information on: the possible sources of lead in drinking water, including, but not limited to, lead service lines, pipes, and fixtures; the health effects of lead in drinking water; and measures a customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in drinking water. If the public community water system provides for, and the new customer has requested, the ability to receive or access water bills in electronic format, the public community water system shall also send the notice required pursuant to this subsection in electronic format.
b. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish a public notice in the New Jersey Register and on its Internet website specifying the form and manner of the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and the specific information to be included in the notice.
c. If a public community water system serves a municipality in which the primary language of 10 percent or more of the residents is a language other than English, the owner or operator of the public community water system shall provide the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section in both English and the other language to the new customer.
d. The owner or operator of a public community water system shall not be required to provide the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section until the department has published the public notice required pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
5. a. At least 48 hours prior to commencing any construction, maintenance, repair, or replacement of any lead service line or lead water main, the owner or operator of a public community water system shall provide a written notice, in a form and manner as determined by the department pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to all residential, commercial, and institutional customers and residents served by the lead service line or lead water main. In the case of emergency maintenance, repair, or replacement of a lead service line or lead water main, the notice required pursuant to this section shall be provided as soon as may be practicable, and the emergency work may be commenced notwithstanding the provision of this subsection to the contrary concerning prior notice.
The notice shall include, but need not be limited to:
(1) notification that the planned construction, maintenance, repair, or replacement may loosen lead-containing particles in the water distribution system and temporarily increase lead levels in the water supply;
(2) the estimated length of time that lead levels may remain elevated, as determined by the department;
(3) general information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, and the health effects of consuming lead-contaminated water;
(4) measures residents can take to reduce or eliminate their exposure to lead in drinking water, including, but not limited to, flushing water lines during and after completion of the work, removing and cleaning faucet aerator screens, and installing a water filter or water treatment device certified to remove lead in drinking water; and
(5) a recommendation that any lead service line serving the property be fully replaced, if it is not already being fully replaced, and a list of available resources to assist the property owner in conducting a full lead service line replacement.
b. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish a public notice in the New Jersey Register and on its Internet website specifying the form and manner of the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and the specific information to be included in the notice.
c. If a public community water system serves a municipality in which the primary language of 10 percent or more of the residents is a language other than English, the owner or operator of the public community water system shall provide the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section in both English and the other language to the residents.
d. The owner or operator of a public community water system shall not be required to provide the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section until the department has published the public notice required pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, to be known as the "Lead Education, Accountability, and Disclosure Act," would require public community water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water.
The bill would require public community water systems to include certain information on lead in drinking water in their annual Consumer Confidence Reports, prepared pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water Act." This bill would require the Consumer Confidence Report to include information on: the possible sources of lead in drinking water, including, but not limited to, lead service lines, pipes, and fixtures; the health effects of lead in drinking water; and measures a customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in drinking water.
Additionally, under the bill, within 90 days after beginning water service to a new customer, a public community water system would be required to send the new customer a notice, in writing, containing the information on lead described above. If the public community water system provides for, and the new customer has requested, the ability to receive or access water bills in electronic format, the public community water system would also be required to send the notice in electronic format. As used in the bill, "new customer" includes any new residential, commercial, or institutional customer who connects, reconnects, or establishes new water service with the public community water system after the bill is enacted into law.
Lastly, the bill would require public community water systems to notify all residential, commercial, and institutional customers and residents at least 48 hours prior to commencing any construction, maintenance, repair, or replacement of any lead service line or lead water main. The bill provides that, in the case of emergency work, this notice would be provided as soon as practicable, rather than 48 priors to commencing work. The notice would include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) notification that the planned work may loosen lead-containing particles and temporarily increase lead levels in the water;
(2) the estimated length of time that lead levels may remain elevated;
(3) general information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, and the health effects of consuming lead-contaminated water;
(4) measures residents can take to reduce or eliminate their exposure to lead in drinking water; and
(5) a recommendation that any lead service line serving the property be fully replaced, and a list of available resources to assist in any replacement.
For all three notice requirements, the bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to publish a public notice on its Internet website and in the New Jersey Register specifying the information to be included in each notice. Public community water systems would not be required to provide the notices set forth in the bill until after the DEP publishes the public notices.
