Bill > S2188

This bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Health (DOH) to take actions to prevent and control Legionnaires' disease, a serious lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria. Public community water systems, defined as water systems serving the public with more than 100 service connections, must maintain specific levels of disinfectant residuals (like chlorine or chloramine) to inhibit bacterial growth and develop a distribution system maintenance plan. These systems must also report any "disruption of the public community water system"—meaning any event that could compromise water quality, such as changes in treatment or unplanned outages—to the DEP within 72 hours of occurrence, once the DEP establishes a data management system for this purpose. Additionally, certain buildings and facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, residential high-rises, and buildings with cooling towers or other water aerosol-generating devices, must develop and implement a water management program, often following standards set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), to minimize Legionella growth. The DOH will conduct investigations into reported Legionnaires' disease cases, potentially requiring building owners to test and mitigate Legionella, and will also launch a public awareness campaign about the disease. Both the DEP and DOH are mandated to adopt rules and regulations to implement these provisions, and the DOH will publish reports on Legionnaires' disease cases and violations.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S2188