Bill > A2901

Introduced Session

This bill, to be known as the "Lead Education, Accountability, and Disclosure Act," would require public community water systems to provide customers with certain information regarding lead in drinking water. The bill would require public community water systems to include certain information on lead in drinking water in their annual Consumer Confidence Reports, prepared pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water Act." This bill would require the Consumer Confidence Report to include 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 drinking water. Additionally, under the bill, within 90 days after beginning water service to a new customer, a public community water system would be required to send the new customer a notice, in writing, containing the information on lead described above. If the public community water system provides for, and the new customer has requested, the ability to receive or access water bills in electronic format, the public community water system would also be required to send the notice in electronic format. As used in the bill, "new customer" includes any new residential, commercial, or institutional customer who connects, reconnects, or establishes new water service with the public community water system after the bill is enacted into law. Lastly, the bill would require public community water systems to notify all residential, commercial, and institutional customers and residents at least 48 hours prior to commencing any construction, maintenance, repair, or replacement of any lead service line or lead water main. The bill provides that, in the case of emergency work, this notice would be provided as soon as practicable, rather than 48 priors to commencing work. The notice would include, but not be limited to, the following information: (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. For all three notice requirements, the bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to publish a public notice on its Internet website and in the New Jersey Register specifying the information to be included in each notice. Public community water systems would not be required to provide the notices set forth in the bill until after the DEP publishes the public notices.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Gary Schaer (D)*,  Clinton Calabrese (D),  Wayne DeAngelo (D),  Shama Haider (D),  Yvonne Lopez (D),  Carol Murphy (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D),  Lisa Swain (D),  Chris Tully (D),  Anthony Verrelli (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document