Provides for annual school lead-copper tap water testing; requires the publishing of reports of contamination and abatement of such contamination; requires school districts to provide potable water to school children attending affected schools; exempts those schools built without use of lead piping and those schools where a finding of no contamination has been made for three consecutive years.

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S666-2011 Actions

• Mar 12, 2012: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Mar 8, 2012: NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO HEALTH
• Dec 16, 2011: PRINT NUMBER 666A
• Dec 16, 2011: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO HEALTH
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO HEALTH

S666-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S666

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to the
water dispensed within
public schools

PURPOSE:
To protect children from the irreversible health effects caused by
lead contamination by ensuring that the water children drink in
schools is safe and free from lead by requiring school districts to
conduct annual school lead-copper tap water testing to monitor for
lead contamination.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the public health law by adding a new section 1110
that will require the commissioner of Health in conjunction with the
commissioner of Education to prepare and publish a report based on
the findings of the lead-copper tap water testing, and would require
that the report be sent to the commissioner of education and be
available to parents of children in the affected school. To publish a
report on findings of annual lead-copper tap water testing.

Section 2 amends 1102 of the public health law to include a finding of
contamination pursuant to section 409-1 of the education law.

Section 3 amends the education law by adding a new section 409-1 which
requires school lead-copper tap water testing to monitor for lead
contamination (except in schools that have been built without lead
piping, or where a finding of no contamination has been made for a
period of three years,) and sets forth levels that would exceed those
that are acceptable. It would also require the results to be
transmitted to the commissioner of education and the commissioner of
health. If contamination is found the school district shall:

- continue testing until test results are acceptable

- supply children with an adequate supply of potable water

- provide parents with written notification (which is explicitly
spelled out) of test results, and district's plan to eliminate the
source of lead exposure.

Section 4 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
Research has clearly shown that lead in drinking water poses serious,
irreversible health effects to children. Currently school facilities
are required to provide "safe, potable water", but the regulations do
not call for testing where the school is not the water supplier. The
only way to ensure that the water is truly "safe and potable" is to
require testing for lead and to mandate that the results of those
tests be made public. It is also necessary to provide for the
mandatory abatement of the cause of the lead contamination. It has
been brought to my attention that a school district detected lead


levels well above those set forth as acceptable by the EPA and the
NYS Public Health Law. There was documentation found of these
findings, and it was revealed that these results were not reported to
the EPA, the NYS Department of Health or the County Health
Department. In this case the parents were not informed of the results
and no attempt had been made to correct the cause of the lead.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009/10: A.2359-A/S.6174 - Passed Assembly
2007/08: A.2279/S.3580 - Passed Assembly
2005/06: A.1467A - Passed Assembly
2003/04: A.1898 - Passed Assembly
2001/02: A.7677C - Passed Assembly

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect September 1, 2012.

S666-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     666

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

  AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
    to the water dispensed within public schools

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
  1110 to read as follows:

    S 1110. REPORT. THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COMMISSIONER
  OF EDUCATION, SHALL CAUSE TO BE PREPARED  AND  SHALL  PUBLISH  A  REPORT
  BASED  ON  ANY  FINDINGS  FROM  THE ANNUAL LEAD-COPPER TAP WATER TESTING
  CONDUCTED AT THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION PURSUANT  TO
  THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED NINE-L OF THE EDUCATION LAW. SUCH
  REPORT  SHALL BE SENT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AND SHALL BE MADE
  AVAILABLE TO THE PARENTS AND PERSONS IN PARENTAL RELATION OF  ANY  CHILD
  ATTENDING  THE  AFFECTED  SCHOOL  DISTRICT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF
  SUCH SECTION FOUR HUNDRED NINE-L.
    S 2. Subdivision 1 of section  1102  of  the  public  health  law,  as
  amended  by  chapter  655  of  the  laws  of 1978, is amended to read as
  follows:

    1. If any inspection discloses a violation of any rule  or  regulation
  promulgated pursuant to section one thousand one hundred of this chapter
  relating  to a temporary or permanent source or act of contamination  OR
  A FINDING OF CONTAMINATION PURSUANT TO SECTION FOUR  HUNDRED  NINE-L  OF
  THE  EDUCATION LAW, the person, officer, board, or commission having the
  management and control of the potable water supply of the  municipality,
  state  or  United  States institution, park, reservation or post, and in
  the city of New York, the commissioner of environmental protection,  and
  the  board  of  water supply of the city of New York, or the corporation
  furnishing such supply shall cause a copy  of  the  rule  or  regulation

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD01589-01-1

 S. 666                              2

  violated  to be served upon the person violating the same, with a notice
  of such violation. If the person served does not comply immediately with
  the rule or regulation violated, such  person,  officer,  board,  corpo-
  ration  or  commission,  except  in a case concerning the violation of a
  rule or regulation relating to a temporary or permanent source or act of
  contamination affecting the potable water supply  of  the  city  of  New
  York, shall notify the department of the violation.
    S  3.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 409-l to
  read as follows:

    S 409-L. SCHOOL LEAD-COPPER TAP WATER TESTING.   1. THE  COMMISSIONER,
  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  THE  COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH, SHALL REQUIRE SCHOOL
  DISTRICTS TO CONDUCT AN ANNUAL SCHOOL LEAD-COPPER TAP WATER  TESTING  TO
  MONITOR  FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION.  EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL PROVIDE THE
  RESULTS OF SUCH TESTING TO  THE  COMMISSIONER.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL
  TRANSMIT  A  COPY  OF  SUCH  RESULTS TO THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH.  FOR
  PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, TAP WATER SHALL BE CONSIDERED CONTAMINATED  IF
  SUCH  TAP  WATER  EXCEEDS  THE  LEAD  OR  COPPER  ACTION  LEVEL BASED ON
  FIRST-DRAW TAP SAMPLES AS PROVIDED  IN  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  OF  THE
  DEPARTMENT  OF  HEALTH  AUTHORIZED  UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED ONE OF THE
  PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.   WHERE A  FINDING  OF  CONTAMINATION  IS  MADE,  THE
  AFFECTED SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL:

    (A)  CONTINUE  TESTING  EVERY  SIX  MONTHS UNTIL TEST RESULTS INDICATE
  ACCEPTABLE LEAD AND  COPPER  LEVELS  AS  AUTHORIZED  UNDER  SECTION  TWO
  HUNDRED ONE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW;
    (B)  PROVIDE  CHILDREN  WITH AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF SAFE, POTABLE WATER
  FOR DRINKING AS REQUIRED BY RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT
  AUTHORIZED  UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED ONE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW UNTIL
  FUTURE TESTS INDICATE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS AS AUTHORIZED UNDER SECTION  TWO
  HUNDRED ONE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW;
    (C) PROVIDE PARENTS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING SAID SCHOOL WITH:

    (I) WRITTEN NOTIFICATION OF TEST RESULTS;
    (II)  CHILDREN'S  AVAILABILITY  TO AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF SAFE, POTABLE
  WATER FOR DRINKING;
    (III) NOTIFICATION OF WHEN THE NEXT SCHEDULED TAP WATER  TESTING  WILL
  OCCUR; AND
    (IV)  NOTIFICATION  OF  THE DISTRICT'S PLAN TO ELIMINATE THE SOURCE OF
  LEAD EXPOSURE TO CHILDREN; AND
    (D) PROVIDE THE  COMMISSIONER  WITH  NOTIFICATION  OF  THE  DISTRICT'S
  INVESTIGATION  AS  TO  THE  SOURCE OF LEAD EXPOSURE IN THE WATER AND THE
  DISTRICT'S PLAN TO ELIMINATE THE SOURCE OF LEAD EXPOSURE TO CHILDREN.
    2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION "WRITTEN NOTIFICATION" SHALL MEAN  AND
  INCLUDE  NOTICE  IN  WRITING  THAT  IS  PROVIDED  DIRECTLY TO THE STAFF,
  PARENTS OR PERSONS IN PARENTAL RELATION TO STUDENTS; OR DELIVERED  TO  A
  RECEPTACLE  DESIGNATED  FOR  THAT  STUDENT  OR  STAFF;  OR MAILED TO THE
  STUDENT'S OR STAFF'S LAST KNOWN  ADDRESS;  OR  DELIVERED  BY  ANY  OTHER
  REASONABLE METHODS AUTHORIZED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
    3.  SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT ANNUAL LEAD-COP-
  PER TAP WATER TESTING REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION AT THOSE  SCHOOL
  BUILDINGS  WITHIN THE DISTRICT (A) BUILT WITHOUT THE USE OF LEAD PIPING;
  OR (B) WHERE A FINDING OF NO CONTAMINATION HAS BEEN MADE FOR A PERIOD OF
  THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
    S 4. This act shall take effect September 1, 2012.