Bill Text: NJ A3805 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DEP to study indoor air quality at public schools, develop list of common indoor air contaminants at public schools, and establish guidance regarding potential mitigation measures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A3805 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A3805-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DEP to study indoor air quality at public schools, develop list of common indoor air contaminants at public schools, and establish guidance regarding potential mitigation measures.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning indoor air quality in public schools and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Hazardous air pollutant" means the same as that term is defined by section 2 of P.L.1954, c.212 (C.26:2C-2).
"Indoor air contaminant" means any substance, other than water or distillates of air, which is present in a building's internal atmosphere as solid particles, liquid particles, vapors, or gases.
"Indoor air quality" means the quality of air inside a closed building.
"Public school" means the same as that term is defined in N.J.S.18A:1-1.
b. Within one year after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection, acting in cooperation and consultation with the Department of Education, the Rutgers Center for Green Building, and any other organization deemed by the department to be appropriate, shall conduct a public school indoor air quality study using a representative sampling of public schools in the State. The representative sampling of schools shall include:
(1) schools that represent diverse regions of the State and provide varying levels of education to students of all ages, including at least one preschool, one kindergarten, one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school located in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State; and
(2) schools of varying ages, including, to the extent practicable, at least: one school constructed within the five year period immediately preceding the effective date of this act; one school constructed not less than five years, nor more than 10 years, prior to the effective date of this act; one school constructed not less than 10 years, nor more than 15 years, prior to the effective date of this act; one school constructed not less than 15 years, nor more than 25 years, prior to the effective date of this act; one school constructed not less than 25 years, nor more than 50 years, prior to the effective date of this act; and one school constructed more than 50 years prior to the effective date of this act.
c. In conducting the public school indoor air quality study pursuant to this section, the department shall:
(1) identify, for each school in the representative sample, the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), hazardous air pollutants, and other indoor air contaminants that are present in the indoor air at each such school, and extrapolate, from the representative sampling, the total number of public schools in the State where each such indoor air contaminant may be present and the estimated level of each indoor air contaminant at each such school in the State;
(2) compile a list of the most common indoor air contaminants in public schools; and
(3) develop and publish guidance documents for public schools and school districts describing the ways in which such schools may take action to reduce the presence or mitigate the effects of indoor air contaminants identified on the list prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. In developing guidance documents pursuant to this paragraph, the department shall consider and incorporate, as deemed appropriate, any existing guidance on this issue that has been published by the Department of Health or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
d. The Department of Environmental Protection shall provide the Department of Education with a copy of the list and guidance documents developed pursuant to subsection c. of this section, and the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Education shall each post a copy of the list and the guidance documents in a publicly accessible location on the respective department's Internet website.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), within one year after the bill's effective date, and in cooperation and consultation with the Department of Education (DOE), the Rutgers Center for Green Building, and any other organization deemed by the DEP to be appropriate, to conduct a public school indoor air quality study using a representative sampling of public schools in the State. The representative sampling of schools would be required to include: (1) schools that represent diverse regions of the State and provide varying levels of education to students of all ages, including at least one preschool, one kindergarten, one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school located in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State; and (2) schools of varying ages, including, to the extent practicable, at least: one school constructed within the five year period immediately preceding the bill's effective date; one school constructed not less than five years, nor more than 10 years, prior to the bill's effective date; one school constructed not less than 10 years, nor more than 15 years, prior to the bill's effective date; one school constructed not less than 15 years, nor more than 25 years, prior to the bill's effective date; one school constructed not less than 25 years, nor more than 50 years, prior to the bill's effective date; and one school constructed more than 50 years prior to the bill's effective date.
In conducting the public school indoor air quality study, the DEP would be required to:
(1) identify, for each school in the representative sample, the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), hazardous air pollutants, and other indoor air contaminants that are present in the indoor air at each such school, and extrapolate, from the representative sampling, the total number of public schools in the State where each such indoor air contaminant is present and the estimated level of each such indoor air contaminant at each public school in the State;
(2) compile a list of the most common indoor air contaminants in public schools; and
(3) develop and publish guidance documents for public schools and school districts describing the ways in which such schools may take action to reduce the presence or mitigate the effects of indoor air contaminants identified on the DEP's list. In developing these guidance documents, the DEP would be required to consider and incorporate, as deemed appropriate, any existing guidance on this issue that has been published by the Department of Health or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill would require the DEP to provide the DOE with a copy of the list and guidance documents developed under the bill, and it would further require both the DEP and DOE to post a copy of the list and the guidance documents in a publicly accessible location on the respective department's Internet website.
