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S3223
SENATE, No. 3223
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires schools and child care centers to test
drinking water for lead every two years and install filters certified to reduce
lead levels.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the presence of lead in drinking water at
schools and child care centers and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statues and Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in sections 1
through 3 of this act:
���� "Drinking water
outlet" means any location where water is expected to be used for consumption
or food preparation, including ice-making and hot-drink machines.
���� "Field blank" means
an aliquot of reagent water exposed to the environment during water sample
collection and processed in the laboratory as an environmental sample, in order
to verify that contamination is not introduced during sample collection.
���� "NSF/ANSI standard"
means a water treatment standard developed by the National Sanitation
Foundation, International, and the American National Standards Institute.
���� "Other facilities"
means athletic stadiums; swimming pools; any associated structures or related
equipment tied to such facilities, including, but not limited to, grandstands
and night field lights, greenhouses, garages, facilities used for
non-instructional or non-educational purposes, and any structure, building, or
facility used solely for school administration.
���� "School" means the
governing authority of a public school district, charter school, renaissance
school, jointure commission, educational services commission, approved private
school for students with disabilities acting under contract to provide
educational services on behalf of New Jersey public school districts,
State-funded early childcare facility, or receiving school.
���� "School facility"
means and includes any structure, building, or facility used wholly or in part
for educational purposes by a school district and facilities that physically
support the structures, buildings, and facilities, such as school district
wastewater treatment, power generating and steam generating, including a
temporary facility or other facility.
���� "Temporary facility"
means a facility used for educating students on a temporary basis while
awaiting completion of a school facilities project that will permanently house
students.
���� 2.��� a.� A school shall
conduct lead sampling and analysis at all drinking water outlets to which a
student or staff member has, or may have, access, in each school facility, in
conformance with the provisions of this section.
���� b.��� Lead sampling shall be
conducted in accordance with a lead sampling plan, which shall include:
���� (1) a plumbing survey for each
school facility that identifies how water enters and flows through each
facility, the types of plumbing materials used in the facility, including the
service lines, piping, solder, fixtures, drinking water outlets, and point-of-use
treatment systems, including drinking water filters;
���� (2) the names and
responsibilities of all individuals involved in sampling; and
���� (3) the following sampling
procedures:
���� (a) samples shall be taken
after water has sat undisturbed in the pipes for at least eight hours but no
more than 48 hours before the sample is taken, except that 24-hour school
facilities shall collect first-draw samples at drinking water outlets following
a stagnation time that would likely result in the longest standing time;
���� (b) at least eight hours prior
to sampling, signs shall be posted to indicate that water shall not be used and
access to the buildings subject to the sampling shall be restricted to all but
authorized staff members;
���� (c) existing aerators,
screens, and filters shall not be replaced or removed prior to or during
sampling; and
���� (d) all samples shall be
collected in pre-cleaned, high-density polyethylene, 250 milliliter, wide-mouth,
single-use, rigid sample containers that are properly labeled.
���� c.���� The analysis of a water
sample shall be conducted as follows:
���� (1) the analysis shall be
conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental
Protection to analyze for lead in drinking water;
���� (2) the laboratory shall use
an analytical method approved pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water
Act," 42 U.S.C. s.300 et al.; and
���� (3) the analysis shall be
conducted in accordance with a quality assurance project plan, which shall be
signed by the school, the certified laboratory, and the individual responsible
for conducting sampling. �The plan shall include the identification of
analytical methods, chain of custody procedures, data validation and reporting
processes, detection limits, reporting to three significant figures, field
blanks, and quality control measures required by the certified method.
���� d.��� A school, or its
designee, shall complete a review of final laboratory results within 72 hours
of receipt. �Within 24 hours after the school, or its designee, has reviewed
the final laboratory results, the school shall:
���� (1) make the test results of
all water samples publicly available at the school and on the school's Internet
website; and
���� (2) if any results exceed a
lead concentration of five parts per billion, provide written notification to
the parents or guardians of all students attending the facility, facility
staff, and the Department of Education. �This written notification shall also
be posted on the school's Internet website.� The written notification shall
include information regarding the health effects of lead and a description of
the following:
���� (a) measures taken by the school
to immediately end use of each drinking water outlet where lead concentration
exceeds five parts per billion;
���� (b) any additional remedial
actions taken or planned by the school; and
���� (c) the measures taken to
ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all students and
staff members at the school where the drinking water outlet is located.
���� e.� The initial lead sampling
and analysis carried out pursuant to this section shall be conducted no later
than one year after the effective date of this act and no less frequently than once
every two years thereafter.
���� 3.��� No later than one year
after the effective date of this act, a school shall install and maintain
point-of-use water filters, which are certified by an accredited third-party
certification body to meet NSF/ANSI standards 42 and 53, at any drinking
fountain or faucet in a school facility that is regularly used by students or
teachers for drinking water or food preparation.� The school shall install, or
cause to be installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency
recommended by the manufacturer.
���� 4.��� The Commissioner of
Education shall adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative
Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules and
regulations necessary to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 3 of this
act.
���� 5.��� As used in sections 5
through 7 of this act:
���� "Child care center"
means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c.492
(C.30:5B-3).
���� "Drinking water
outlet" means any location where water is expected to be used for consumption
or food preparation, including ice-making and hot-drink machines.
���� "Field blank" means
an aliquot of reagent water exposed to the environment during water sample
collection and processed in the laboratory as an environmental sample, in order
to verify that contamination is not introduced during sample collection.
���� "NSF/ANSI standard"
means a water treatment standard developed by the National Sanitation
Foundation, International, and the American National Standards Institute.
���� 6.��� a.� The owner or
operator of a child care center shall conduct lead sampling and analysis at all
drinking water outlets at the child care center to which a child or staff
member has, or may have, access, in conformance with the provisions of this
section.
���� b.��� Lead sampling shall be
conducted in accordance with a lead sampling plan, which shall include:
���� (1) a plumbing survey for the
child care center that identifies how water enters and flows through the
facility, the types of plumbing materials used in the facility, including the
service lines, piping, solder, fixtures, drinking water outlets, and point-of-use
treatment systems, including drinking water filters;
���� (2) the names and
responsibilities of all individuals involved in sampling; and
���� (3) the following sampling
procedures:
���� (a) samples shall be taken
after water has sat undisturbed in the pipes for at least eight hours but no
more than 48 hours before the sample is taken, except that 24-hour child care
centers shall collect first-draw samples at drinking water outlets following a
stagnation time that would likely result in the longest standing time;
���� (b) at least eight hours prior
to sampling, signs shall be posted to indicate that water from the drinking
water outlet shall not be used;
���� (c) existing aerators,
screens, and filters shall not be replaced or removed prior to or during
sampling; and
���� (d) all samples shall be
collected in pre-cleaned, high-density polyethylene, 250 milliliter,
wide-mouth, single-use, rigid sample containers that are properly labeled.
���� c.���� The analysis of a water
sample shall be conducted as follows:
���� (1) the analysis shall be
conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental
Protection to analyze for lead in drinking water;
���� (2) the laboratory shall use
an analytical method approved pursuant to the federal "Safe Drinking Water
Act," 42 U.S.C. s.300 et al.; and
���� (3) the analysis shall be
conducted in accordance with a quality assurance project plan, which shall be
signed by the child care center, the certified laboratory, and the individual
responsible for conducting sampling.� The plan shall include the identification
of analytical methods, chain of custody procedures, data validation and
reporting processes, detection limits, reporting to three significant figures,
field blanks, and quality control measures required by the certified method.
���� d.��� The owner or operator of
a child care center, or its designee, shall complete a review of final
laboratory results within 72 hours of receipt.� Within 24 hours after the owner
or operator of a child care center, or its designee, has reviewed the final laboratory
results, the owner or operator shall:
���� (1) make the test results of
all water samples publicly available at the child care center and on the child
care center's Internet website; and
���� (2) if any results exceed a
lead concentration of five parts per billion, provide written notification to
the parents or guardians of all children attending the facility, facility
staff, and the Department of Children and Families.� This written notification
shall also be posted on the child care center's Internet website.� The written
notification shall include information regarding the health effects of lead and
a description of the following:
���� (a) measures taken by the child
care center to immediately end use of each drinking water outlet where lead
concentration exceeds five parts per billion;
���� (b) any additional remedial
actions taken or planned by the child care center; and
���� (c) the measures taken to
ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all children
and staff members at the child care center where the drinking water outlet is
located.
���� e.���� The initial lead
sampling and analysis carried out pursuant to this section shall be conducted
no later than one year after the effective date of this act and no less frequently
than once every two years thereafter.
���� 7.��� No later than one year
after the effective date of this act, the owner or operator of a child care
center shall install and maintain point-of-use water filters, which are
certified by an accredited third-party certification body to meet NSF/ANSI
standards 42 and 53, at any drinking fountain or faucet in the child care
center that is regularly used by children or teachers for drinking water or
food preparation.� The owner or operator shall install, or cause to be
installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency recommended
by the manufacturer.
���� 8.��� The Commissioner of
Children and Families shall adopt, pursuant to the provisions of the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of sections 5
through 7 of this act.
���� 9.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would require
schools and child care centers to test their drinking water for lead at least
every two years, and to take certain actions if they find a lead concentration
greater than five parts per billion is found.� The bill would also require
schools and child care centers to install filters that are certified to reduce
lead levels at each drinking water fountain or faucet that is regularly used
for drinking water or food preparation.
���� Specifically, the bill would
require the governing authority of a school and the owner or operator of a
child care center to test each drinking water outlet at their facilities in
accordance with a lead sampling plan.� The bill would establish certain minimum
requirements for the lead sampling plan, as enumerated in subsection b. of
sections 2 and subsection b. of section 6 of the bill, including the
requirement that samples be taken after the water supplying the outlet has sat
undisturbed in the pipes for between eight hours and 48 hours.� The bill would
also establish certain requirements on how the analysis of the water samples is
performed, as enumerated in subsection c. of sections 2 and subsection c. of
section 6 of the bill, including that the analysis be conducted by a laboratory
certified by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to analyze for
lead in drinking water.
���� Within 96 hours after a school
or child care center receives the results of a lead test, it would be required
to make the test results public.� In addition, if any results exceed a lead
concentration of 5 parts per billion, the school or child care center would be
required to provide a written notification to the parents, the staff, and the
Department of Education (in the case of a school) or the Department of Children
and Families (in the case of a child care center).� The bill would require the
notification to include information regarding the health effects of lead and a
description of the following:
���� (1) measures taken by the
school or child care center to immediately end use of each drinking water
outlet where lead concentration exceeds five parts per billion;
���� (2) any additional remedial
actions taken or planned by the school or child care center; and
���� (3) the measures taken to
ensure that alternate drinking water has been made available to all students,
children, and staff members at the school or child care center.
���� The bill would also require a
school or child care center to install and maintain point-of-use water filters,
which are certified by an accredited third-party certification body to meet National
Sanitation Foundation-American National Standards Institute standards 42 and
53, at any drinking fountain or faucet in the facility that is regularly used
by students, children, or teachers for drinking water or food preparation.� The
bill would also require a school or child care center to install, or cause to
be installed, replacement cartridges for the filters at the frequency
recommended by the manufacturer.
���� Current regulations adopted by
the State Board of Education, specifically N.J.A.C.6A:26-12.4, require schools
to conduct lead water testing in a nearly identical way to the provisions in
this bill.� However, this bill would require the testing to occur every two
years, rather than every three years, as under current regulations.� The bill
would also require schools to take action if a lead concentration of five parts
per billion is found.� Current regulations use the federal action level for
lead, which is 0.015 milligrams per liter (approximately equal to 15 parts per
billion).� The bill would also extend the modified testing requirements for
schools to child care centers as well, which are currently covered under
substantively different regulations, adopted by the Department of Children and
Families, at N.J.A.C.3A:52-5.3.