ASSEMBLY, No. 2863

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 20, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblywoman  LISA SWAIN

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblyman  P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Vainieri Huttle and Dunn

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires public water systems to provide notice of elevated lead levels in drinking water to customers and local officials; requires landlords to notify tenants of elevated lead levels.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

 


An Act concerning the notification of 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.    As used in P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

     "Landlord" means the same as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-44).

     "Lead action level" means the standard for lead in drinking water established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or a more stringent standard adopted by the department pursuant to the "Safe Drinking Water Act," P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.).

     “Local health agency” means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1975, c.329 (C.26:3A2-3).

 

     2.    a.  A public water system that exceeds the lead action level shall provide a written notice, by regular mail, to all customers served by the public water system, all schools and daycare centers served by the public water system, all local health agencies in the public water system's service area, and the chief executive of each municipality in the public water system's service area.  The written notice shall be sent no later than 10 calendar days after the end of the monitoring period during which the exceedance is discovered.  The written notice shall:

     (1)   clearly state that the public water system is in exceedance of the lead action level;

     (2)   explain what the lead action level is and the measurement process that the public water system is required to perform to monitor drinking water for lead;

     (3)   provide additional information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, the health effects of drinking water with elevated levels of lead, and measures a customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in drinking water; and

     (4)   state, in easily legible type, the responsibility of a landlord to distribute the written notice to every tenant pursuant to section 3 of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     b.    The notice required pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any notice requirements under federal law.

 

     3.    a.  When a landlord receives any notice or health and safety information from a public water system concerning the presence of lead in drinking water, including but not limited to the written notice submitted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the landlord shall:

     (1)   distribute the notice or information, within five calendar days of receipt, to every tenant who has entered into a lease agreement with the landlord and whose dwelling unit is served by the public water system; and

     (2)   post the notice or information, within five calendar days of receipt, in a prominent location at the entrance of each rental premises that is owned by the landlord and served by the public water system.

     b.    When a public water system provides any notice or information to its customers concerning the presence of lead in drinking water, the public water system shall include a statement, printed in easily legible type, explaining the requirements set forth in subsection a. of this section.

 

     4.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill would supplement the "Safe Drinking Water Act," P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.) to require public water systems to provide their customers, local health agencies, and municipal governments with expedited written notice by mail of elevated lead levels.  The bill also requires landlords to notify tenants of elevated lead levels in drinking water.

     The federal "Lead and Copper Rule" requires public water systems to periodically sample their water supplies to check the amount of lead present.  If the concentration of lead in more than 10 percent of tap water samples collected during any monitoring period is greater than 15 parts per billion, the public water system is said to exceed the lead action level, and federal regulations require the public water system to take various actions.  Among other things, the regulations require the public water system to deliver public education materials to its customers within 60 days after the end of the monitoring period.

     In New Jersey, the Department of Environmental Protection enforces the federal drinking water regulations pursuant to the "Safe Drinking Water Act."  This bill would supplement the existing notice requirements by requiring the public water system to send out an expedited notice no later than 10 calendar days after the end of the monitoring period in which the public water system exceeds the lead action level.  This notice would be provided to all customers serviced by the public water system, including schools and daycare centers, and all local health agencies and municipalities located within the system’s service area.

     Under the bill, this written notice would: (1) clearly state that the public water system is in exceedance of the lead action level; (2) explain what the lead action level is and the measurement process that the public water system is required to perform to monitor drinking water for lead; (3) provide additional information on the possible sources of lead in drinking water, the health effects of lead in drinking water, and measures a customer can take to reduce or eliminate lead in drinking water; and (4) state the responsibility of a landlord to distribute the notice to all tenants served by the public water system.

     Additionally, the bill requires landlords to provide all tenants with any notice or information received from a public water system concerning the presence of lead in drinking water.  Specifically, the bill requires the landlord to: (1) distribute the notice or information to every tenant who has entered into a lease agreement with the landlord and whose dwelling unit is served by the public water system; and (2) post the notice or information in a prominent location at the entrance of each rental premises that is owned by the landlord and served by the public water system.  The bill also requires a public water system to include a statement explaining these requirements in any notice or information provided to its customers concerning the presence of lead in drinking water.