2017 -- H 5907

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LC002062

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives McLaughlin, McNamara, Corvese, and Azzinaro

     Date Introduced: March 10, 2017

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 23-24.6 of the General Laws entitled "Lead Poisoning Prevention

Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     23-24.6-17.1. Safe drinking water at school.

     (a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following words shall have the following

meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

     (1) "Department" means the department of environmental management.

     (2) "Director" means the director of department of environmental management.

     (3) "Drinking water outlet" means any water fountain, faucet, tap other end-point for

delivery of water regularly used for drinking or food preparation, including ice-making and hot

drink machines.

     (4) "Early childhood program" means a center-based child care facility.

     (5) "Elevated lead level" means a lead concentration in drinking water that exceeds one

part per billion (1 ppb).

     (6) "Lead service line" means a pipe and its fittings, which are not "lead free" as defined

under §1417 of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-6) that connect a drinking

water main to a building inlet.

     (7) "Local board of health" means any city or town board of health.

     (8) "NSF certified filters" means any filter certified by the National Sanitation

Foundation ("NSF") to remove lead from drinking water.

     (9) "School" means any facility operating for the development and education of children,

from pre-school through high school, whether operated by a school district, charter, or nonpublic

entity.

     (10) "Technical guidance" means the technical guidance for detecting and remediating

lead in drinking water at schools issued by the department pursuant to subsection (f) of this

section.

     (b) Lead service line replacement.

     (1) Public water systems shall fully replace lead service lines at every school district,

charter school, nonpublic school, and early childhood program they serve within three (3) years

of the effective date of this act. Said replacement shall be paid for by the public water system,

regardless of ownership of any portion of the service line, and shall be performed in coordination

with the relevant municipality and school or early childhood center, and in conformity with the

department's technical guidance.

     (2) Each public water system shall provide every school district, charter school,

nonpublic school, and early childhood program it serves with the information in its possession

relating to the location of lead service lines within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act.

Each school district, charter school, nonpublic school and early childhood program shall

determine which of its buildings receive drinking water through lead service lines and report the

same to the department within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this act. Within ninety (90)

days of the effective date of this act, the department shall issue an enforceable order to each

public water system to replace all lead services lines at schools and early childhood programs.

     (3) Lead service lines shall be disposed of in accord with hazardous waste laws, and shall

not be landfilled or incinerated.

     (c) Preventing lead contamination. Each school and early childhood program with one or

more tests showing elevated lead levels in water from any drinking water outlet under subsection

(d) of this section shall:

     (1) Immediately shut off the drinking water outlet(s) in question until measures are

undertaken to ensure that the water from the drinking water outlet(s) will no longer have elevated

lead levels

     (2) Within six (6) months of receiving a test showing elevated lead levels, develop and

adopt a plan of action to prevent elevated lead levels in all water used for drinking or cooking.

Said plan of action shall include:

     (i) Installing and maintaining NSF certified filters at all faucets, fountains, or other

drinking water outlets within eighteen (18) months of the effective date of this act. A school or

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early childhood program may, consistent with other obligations in law, remove select drinking

water outlets from operation in lieu of installing filters on those drinking water outlets, so long as

every child has reasonable access to free, safe drinking water;

     (ii) Replacing lead-bearing fixtures and plumbing with lead soldering where feasible and

cost-effective, within two (2) years of receiving elevated lead level test results;

     (iii) May also include other measures to reduce lead contamination of water, consistent

with the department's technical guidance in subsection (f)(2) of this section.

     (3) Aside from the requirement to install and maintain NSF filters at all drinking water

outlets in subsection (c)(2)(i) of this section, nothing in this section shall prevent a school or early

childhood program from adjusting its plan of action, especially in response to public input,

consistent with the department's technical guidance.

     (4) A school or early childhood program may seek the assistance of the department of

health, public water system, or the department to help ensure its compliance with the provisions

of this section.

     (5) Nothing in this section contravenes requirements for more timely remediation when

tests show drinking water outlets with elevated lead levels, as provided in subsection (c)(2) of this

section.

     (d) Testing and immediate remediation.

     (1) Each school and early childhood program shall undertake annual testing of each

drinking water outlet in each school for the presence of lead. Each test for lead shall be conducted

by a laboratory certified for this purpose by the director, in accordance with the sampling and

testing methods specified in the department's technical guidance. If a school or childhood

education program has not tested its drinking water outlets for lead, it shall conduct initial tests

for lead at each drinking water outlet no later than ninety (90) days after the effective date of this

act.

     Unless the commissioner determines, on a case-by-case basis, that a greater or lesser

frequency of testing is necessary or sufficient to ensure the public health, including, but not

limited to, timely testing after replacement of lead service lines.

     (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent a school district, charter school, or nonpublic

school from conducting more frequent testing than required pursuant to subsection (d)(1) of this

section.

     (e) Transparency and public right to know.

     (1) Each school and early childhood program shall:

     (i) Submit to the department of environmental management, the department of education,

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and the department of health, as soon as practicable:

     (A) Its plan of action for preventing lead contamination of water, pursuant to subsection

(c)(2) of this section, and modifications thereto;

     (B) Progress on implementing its plan of action;

     (C) Information on tests conducted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, including,

but not limited to, the date the testing was completed, the location and type of each drinking

water outlet tested, the complete results of each test, and any immediate measures being taken in

response to tests showing drinking water outlet(s) with elevated lead levels.

     (ii) Maintain copies of the information submitted pursuant to subsection (e)(1)(i) of this

section in a suitable location for inspection by the public, and on the Internet website of the

school or early childhood program;

     (iii) Notify parent, teacher, and employee organizations of the availability of the

information submitted pursuant to subsection (e)(1)(i) of this section;

     (iv) Designate a person to serve as the contact person for communications with the

department and the public regarding the lead testing and remediation activities;

     (v) If testing conducted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section reveals an elevated lead

level at a drinking water outlet, the school or early childhood program shall, within one business

day, notify teachers, other school personnel, and parents directly, through written notice,

electronic mail, or other means approved by the department. Such notification shall include, but

need not be limited to:

     (A) A summary of the results of the testing conducted, and information on the availability

of the complete test results for public inspection at a suitable location and on the Internet website

of the school or early childhood program;

     (B) A description of any remedial measures being taken pursuant to sections (c) and (d)

of this section;

     (C) General information on the public health effects and risks posed by lead in drinking

water, and information on the availability of additional resources concerning lead in drinking

water, as outlined in the technical guidance; and

     (D) The name and contact information of the person designated pursuant to subsection

(e)(l)(iv) of this section to communicate with the public;

     (vi) At each drinking water outlet, the school or early childhood program shall post an

electronic QR code with access to information on testing and remediation for that drinking water

outlet. Said information shall include the maintenance schedule and log for installed NSF filters,

unless the drinking water outlet is equipped with a clearly visible indicator for filter replacement.

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     (f) Regulations.

     (1) The department of environmental management, in consultation with the department of

education and the department of health, is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations

necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

     (2) The department shall issue technical guidance that is at least as protective of the

public health as the technical guidance for reducing lead in drinking water at schools issued by

the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Provisions of the technical guidance related

to testing to determine the presence and levels of lead in water shall be designed to maximize

detection of lead in water, and therefore prohibit sampling or testing methods that tend to mask

lead contamination, including pre-stagnation flushing and removal of aerators prior to sampling.

The department shall provide the technical guidance, a list of laboratories certified to conduct

lead testing, and any other information the department deems appropriate, to each school district,

charter school, and nonpublic school and early childhood program, and post the same on the

department's website, within forty-five (45) days of the effective date of this bill.

     (g) Hardship waiver.

     (1) If a school district or early childhood program is unable to comply with some or all of

the requirements of this section, the superintendent of the school district, the administration of a

private day or residential school, or the board of trustees of a charter school, may request a

hardship waiver of some or all of the requirements from the director. No less than thirty (30) days

prior to requesting a hardship waiver, a public school district or early childhood program shall

notify parents and hold at least one public meeting to present the proposed waiver in detail,

disclose health risks of lead in water, and allow meaningful public input on the decision to

request a waiver.

     The department, in consultation with the department of health and the department of

education, shall make available to public schools and childhood education programs a list of

funding sources that a public school or childhood education program may access to facilitate

compliance with all the necessary requirements.

     (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to place additional requirements on a school

or early childhood program that, prior to the effective date of this act, has already taken measures

which, in the judgment of the department, permanently eliminate the risk of elevated lead levels

in its water at all drinking water outlets.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT

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     This act would implement procedures and regulations to test for elevated lead levels in

water from any drinking water outlet at any school or early childhood program. The act would

include measures to reduce and eliminate lead contamination of water.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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