Bill Text: NJ S655 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires public water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S655 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S655-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires public 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 P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.).
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 water system after the effective date of this act.
"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 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 the 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 tap water.
b. No later than 90 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish in the New Jersey Register 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 information required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and to each report thereafter.
4. a. No later than 90 days after beginning water service to a new customer, the owner or operator of a public water system shall send the 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 the customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in tap water. If the public water system provides for, and the customer has requested, the ability to receive or access water bills in electronic format, the public water system shall also send the notice required pursuant to this subsection in electronic format.
b. No later than 90 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish in the New Jersey Register 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 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 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 water system shall not be required to comply with the provisions of this section until the department has published the information 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 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 residents served by the lead service line or lead water main. 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 90 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall publish in the New Jersey Register 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 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 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 water system shall not be required to comply with the provisions of this section until the department has published the information 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 water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water.
Specifically, the bill would require public water systems to include information on lead in drinking water in their annual Consumer Confidence Reports. The federal "Safe Drinking Water Act" requires public water systems to deliver a Consumer Confidence Report, also known as a drinking water quality report, to their customers annually. The report provides customers with information on the quality of the drinking water they receive. For instance, the report contains information on the sources of a customer's drinking water, the level of contaminants detected in the customer's water, and the federal and State drinking water standards.
This bill would require the Consumer Confidence Report to include information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, including, but not necessarily 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 tap water. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be required to publish in the New Jersey Register the specific information required to be included in the Consumer Confidence Report under the bill.
Additionally, under the bill, within 90 days after beginning water service to a new customer, the owner or operator of a public water system would be required to send the customer a notice, in writing, containing information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, including, but not necessarily limited to, lead service lines, pipes, and fixtures; the health effects of lead in drinking water; and measures the customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in tap water. If the public water system provides for, and the customer has requested, the ability to receive or access water bills in electronic format, the public water system would also be required to send the notice in electronic format. Under the bill, the term "new customer" would include any new residential, commercial, or institutional customer.
The DEP would be required to publish in the New Jersey Register the form and manner of the notice required under the bill and the specific information to be included in the notice.
The bill would require the owner or operator of a public water system to notify residents of any construction, maintenance, repair, or replacement of any lead service line or lead water main.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, construction activity to repair or replace lead service lines or lead water mains may loosen lead-containing particles in the water distribution system that end up in water consumed by nearby residents. Lead levels may be elevated for days or weeks following the repair or replacement of a lead service line and, particularly, a partial replacement of a lead service line.
Under the bill, 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 water system would be required to send a written notice to residents served by the lead service line or lead water main. This requirement would apply regardless of whether the work is emergency or routine in nature. The notice, to be developed by the DEP, would include:
(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.
Under the bill, the DEP would be required to publish in the New Jersey Register the form and manner of, and specific information to be included in, the notice required under the bill.
