Requires school districts and boards of cooperative educational services to conduct periodic testing of school potable water sources and systems to monitor for lead contamination in certain school buildings; provides additional aid to such districts and boards for the costs incurred due to the testing of such potable water sources and systems containing an unacceptable amount of lead.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10740
SPONSOR: Rules (Lupardo) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law and the educa-
tion law, in relation to potable water testing and standards in schools
PURPOSE:
This bill would require school districts and boards of cooperative
educational services to conduct periodic testing of the potable water
systems in their school buildings to monitor for lead contamination, and
would provide State aid to reimburse a portion of the cost of such test-
ing and the associated remediation.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill would add a new section 1100 to Public Health Law
to require school districts and boards of cooperative educational
services (BOCES) to conduct periodic testing for lead contamination of
potable water systems in occupied school buildings. Such testing would
be conducted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Depart-
ment of Health (DOH) in consultation with the State Education Department
(SED).
A school district would be required to provide parents and guardians
with written notification of test results and post the test results on
the district's website. Where a finding of lead contamination is made, a
school district or BOCES would be required to continue testing for lead
contamination pursuant to regulation and provide building occupants with
an adequate supply of safe, potable water.
School buildings determined to be "lead free" pursuant to federal law
based on the lead content of their plumbing and fixtures would be exempt
from testing requirements. DOH would be permitted to waive the testing
of buildings already substantially in compliance with the new regu-
lations and found to be free of lead contamination.
Section 2 of this bill would amend section 3602 of Education Law by
adding a new subdivision 6-h to permit school districts to receive
Building Aid for such testing and, over the next three years, associated
installation of filters and/or other effective remedial measures,
provided: the initial contamination finding is confirmed by a second
sample and the remediation measures have been approved by a professional
with expertise in water quality and remediation.
Section 3 of this bill would amend subdivision 6-e of section 3602 of
Education Law to permit school districts to receive Building Aid for
such testing costs as part of the Building Condition Survey (BCS)
conducted every five years.
Section 4 of this bill would create a requirement for a joint report by
the Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Education identifying
the most common sources of such lead contamination and recommending
specific appropriate remediation measures.
Section 5 of this bill would amend section 1950 (5)(b) of the education
law to allow school districts to receive reimbursement under BOCES Aid
for their share of the cost of testing BOCES facilities for lead.
Section 6 of this bill provides the effective date.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:
Lead poisoning is extremely harmful to young children, who absorb lead
faster than adults. High levels of lead in the blood can damage a
child's ability to learn and cause permanent brain damage, especially in
younger children.
Federal rules governing lead in drinking water provide guidelines for
the testing of water for lead contamination. For schools, those guide-
lines are recommendations and are not mandatory. Recent incidents of
lead contamination have been found within schools buildings, where the
testing and remediation is left up to the school districts. This bill
would ensure that regular lead testing is completed pursuant to regu-
lations developed by the Commissioner of Health and ensures that
parents, teachers and others are notified of testing and the results in
a timely manner. The bill also would provide State aid to reimburse a
portion of the cost of the testing and remediation of lead contamination
in school districts and BOCES to ensure that the state is providing the
necessary funding to effectuate this requirement.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
The State would incur additional costs from the apportionment of Build-
ing Aid and BOCES Aid for the reimbursement of expenses related to the
testing of potable water sources and the installation of filters and/or
other effective remedial measures.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The bill would take effect 90 days after becoming a law. However, effec-
tive immediately, the Commissioner of Health would be authorized to
promulgate any and all rules and regulations necessary to implement the
provisions of this act on its effective date.
