Enact the Lead Line Replacement Act

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 307

2025-2026

Representatives Jarrells, Robb
Blasdel

Cosponsors: Representatives Brennan,
Williams, Synenberg, White, E., Rogers, Russo, Stephens, Sims, Rader

A
BILL

To
amend sections 6109.01 and 6109.22 and to enact sections 504.201,
735.291, 743.041, 6101.531, 6103.021, 6109.41, 6109.42, 6109.43,
6109.44, 6109.45, 6109.46, 6109.47, 6109.48, 6109.49, 6109.50,
6109.51, 6115.531, and 6119.062 of the Revised Code
to
establish a program regarding lead service line replacement and to
name this act the Lead Line Replacement Act.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 6109.01 and 6109.22 be amended and sections 504.201,
735.291, 743.041, 6101.531, 6103.021, 6109.41, 6109.42, 6109.43,
6109.44, 6109.45, 6109.46, 6109.47, 6109.48, 6109.49, 6109.50,
6109.51, 6115.531, and 6119.062 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:

Sec.
504.201.
A
township that has adopted a limited home rule government may utilize
sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the Revised Code regarding the
replacement, and the recovery of costs of replacement and replacement
reimbursement, of lead and non-lead service lines.

Sec.
735.291.
A
village may utilize sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the Revised Code
regarding the replacement, and the recovery of costs of replacement
and replacement reimbursement, of lead and non-lead service lines.

Sec.
743.041.
A
municipal corporation may utilize sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the
Revised Code regarding the replacement, and the recovery of costs of
replacement and replacement reimbursement, of lead and non-lead
service lines.

Sec.
6101.531.
A
conservancy district may utilize sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the
Revised Code regarding the replacement, and the recovery of costs of
replacement and replacement reimbursement, of lead and non-lead
service lines.

Sec.
6103.021.
A
county may utilize sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the Revised Code
regarding the replacement, and the recovery of costs of replacement
and replacement reimbursement, of lead and non-lead service lines.

Sec.
6109.01.
As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Public water system" means a system for the provision to
the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other
constructed conveyances if the system has at least fifteen service
connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five individuals.
"Public water system" includes any collection, treatment,
storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of
the system and used primarily in connection with the system, any
collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control
that are used primarily in connection with the system, and any water
supply system serving an agricultural labor camp as defined in
section 3733.41 of the Revised Code.

(B)
"Contaminant" means any physical, chemical, biological, or
radiological substance or matter in water.

(C)
"Person" means the state, any political subdivision,
agency, institution, or instrumentality thereof, any federal agency,
and any person as defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code.

(D)
"Safe Drinking Water Act" means the "Safe Drinking
Water Act," 88 Stat. 1660 (1974), 42 U.S.C. 300(f), as amended
by the "Safe Drinking Water Amendments of 1977," 91 Stat.
1393, 42 U.S.C. 300(f), the "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments
of 1986," 100 Stat. 642, 42 U.S.C. 300(f), and the "Safe
Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996," 110 Stat. 1613, 42
U.S.C. 300(f), and regulations adopted under those acts.

(E)
"Community water system" means a public water system that
has at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents
or that regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents.

(F)
"Small system" means a public water system serving a
population of ten thousand or fewer individuals.

(G)
"Technical assistance" means nonfinancial assistance
provided by the state to public water systems and other eligible
applicants, including, without limitation, assistance for planning
and design, development, and implementation of source water quality
protection programs; locating alternative supplies of drinking water;
operational training; restructuring or consolidation of small
systems; providing treatment information in order to assist
compliance with a national primary drinking water standard; and other
nonfinancial assistance authorized by the requirements governing the
funds established under this chapter.

(H)
"Disadvantaged community" means the service area or portion
of a service area of a public water system that meets affordability
and other criteria established by the director of environmental
protection in rules adopted under division (M) of section 6109.22 of
the Revised Code and may include the service area or portion of a
service area of a public water system located in a distressed area as
defined in section 122.19 of the Revised Code.

(I)
"Director of environmental protection" or "director"
includes an authorized representative of the director.

(J)
"Federal Water Pollution Control Act" has the same meaning
as in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code.

(K)
"Nontransient noncommunity water system" means a public
water system that regularly serves at least twenty-five of the same
persons over six months per year and is not a community water system.

(L)
"Transient noncommunity water system" means a noncommunity
public water system that does not regularly serve at least
twenty-five of the same persons over six months per year and is not a
community water system or a nontransient noncommunity water system.

(M)
"Lead service line" means any public or private service
line that contains lead that is connected to a public water system,
including any lead pigtail, or lead gooseneck. "Lead service
line" also includes both of the following:

(1)
Any galvanized requiring replacement service line;

(2)
Any pipe containing lead from the discharge of the corporation
fitting to customer site piping or to the building plumbing at the
first shut-off valve inside the building, or eighteen inches inside
the building, whichever is shorter, that is connected to a public
water system.

(N)
"Galvanized requiring replacement service line" means a
public or private galvanized service line that is or was at any time
downstream of a service line that contains or contained lead or is
currently downstream of a lead status unknown service line.

(O)
"Non-lead service line" means a service line that is
determined through an evidence-based record, method, or technique not
to be lead or galvanized requiring replacement.

(P)
"Lead status unknown service line" has the same meaning as
in 40 C.F.R. 141.

Sec.
6109.22.
(A)
There is hereby created the drinking water assistance fund to provide
financial and technical assistance for the purposes of protecting
public health and achieving and maintaining compliance with the Safe
Drinking Water Act and this chapter. In addition to the accounts
created under divisions (G) and (H) of this section, the drinking
water assistance fund may include any other accounts established by
the director of environmental protection. The fund shall be
administered by the director consistent with the Safe Drinking Water
Act, this section, and rules adopted under division (M) of this
section.

(B)
The drinking water assistance fund shall consist of the moneys
credited to it from all capitalization grants received under the Safe
Drinking Water Act except for moneys reserved by the governor
pursuant to Title III, section 302 of that act, all moneys credited
to the fund from nonfederal sources, including, without limitation,
the proceeds of state bonds or notes issued for the benefit of the
fund, all payments of principal and interest on loans made from the
fund, and all investment earnings on moneys held in the fund. On or
before the date that a capitalization grant payment made under the
authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act is credited to the fund,
required matching moneys shall be credited to the fund. Any moneys
transferred to or reserved from the drinking water assistance fund
pursuant to Title III, section 302 of the Safe Drinking Water Act
shall be accounted for separately.

(C)
In a manner consistent with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the
applicable drinking water assistance management plan prepared in
accordance with this section, the director may reserve and award for
assistance moneys allotted to the state under section 1452 of the
Safe Drinking Water Act, provided that the director makes a
determination that the use of the moneys will accomplish the state's
objectives and the objectives established for capitalization grants
under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The director may use a portion of
the reserved moneys to enter into contracts with qualified
organizations, including private nonprofit organizations, to provide
statewide on-site technical assistance to small public water systems.

(D)
Subject to the terms of the agreements provided for in division (E)
of this section, moneys in the drinking water assistance fund shall
be held in trust by the Ohio water development authority for the
purposes of this section, shall be kept in the same manner that funds
of the authority are kept under section 6121.11 of the Revised Code,
and may be invested in the same manner that funds of the authority
are invested under section 6121.12 of the Revised Code. Moneys in the
drinking water assistance fund shall be separate and apart from and
not a part of the state treasury or of the other funds of the
authority. No withdrawals or disbursements shall be made from the
drinking water assistance fund without the written authorization of
the director.

(E)
The director shall adopt written criteria to ensure that fiscal
controls are established for prudent administration of the drinking
water assistance fund. For that purpose, the director and the
authority shall enter into any necessary and appropriate agreements
under which the authority may perform or provide any of the
following:

(1)
Fiscal controls and accounting procedures governing fund balances,
receipts, and disbursements;

(2)
Administration of loan accounts;

(3)
Maintenance, management, and investment of moneys in the fund.

Any
agreement entered into under division (E) of this section shall
provide for the payment of reasonable fees to the authority for any
services it performs under the agreement and may provide for
reasonable fees for the assistance of financial or accounting
advisors. Payment of any of the fees to the authority may be made
from the drinking water assistance administrative account established
under division (G) of this section.

(F)
The authority may make moneys available to the director for the
purpose of providing matching moneys required to be credited to the
drinking water assistance fund under division (B) of this section,
subject to any terms that the director and the authority consider
appropriate, and may pledge moneys that are held by the authority to
secure the payment of bonds or notes issued by the authority to
provide those matching moneys.

The
director and the authority may enter into trust agreements to enable
the authority to issue and refund bonds or notes for the sole benefit
of the drinking water assistance fund, including, without limitation,
the raising of matching moneys required to be credited to the fund in
accordance with division (B) of this section. The agreements may
authorize the pledge of moneys accruing to the fund from payments of
principal or interest or both on loans made from the fund to secure
bonds or notes, the proceeds of which bonds or notes shall be for the
sole benefit of the drinking water assistance fund. The agreements
may contain any terms that the director and the authority consider
reasonable and proper for the payment and security of the bondholders
or noteholders.

(G)
There is hereby established within the drinking water assistance fund
the drinking water assistance administrative account. No state
matching moneys deposited into the fund under this section shall be
used for the purpose of paying for or defraying the costs of
administering this section. The director may establish and collect
fees from applicants for assistance provided under this section. The
total fees charged to an applicant under this division for assistance
under this section shall not exceed the following:

(1)
For the environmental protection agency, one per cent of the
principal amount of the assistance awarded to the applicant;

(2)
For the authority, thirty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the
principal amount of the assistance awarded to the applicant.

All
moneys from the fees shall be credited to the drinking water
assistance administrative account in the fund. The moneys shall be
used solely to defray the costs of administrating this section.

(H)
There is hereby established within the drinking water assistance fund
the water supply revolving loan account. The director may provide
financial assistance from the water supply revolving loan account
for
improvements
to

community

both
of the following:

(1)
Community
water
systems and
to

nonprofit
noncommunity public water systems

for improvements;

(2)
Public water systems for the purposes of replacing lead service lines
and funding lead service line replacement plans under section 6109.43
of the Revised Code
.

(I)
All moneys from the fund credited to the water supply revolving loan
account, all interest earned on moneys credited to the account, and
all payments of principal and interest on loans made from the account
shall be dedicated in perpetuity and used and reused solely for the
following purposes, except as otherwise provided in this section:

(1)
To make loans to community water systems and nonprofit noncommunity
public water systems,
and
to make loans to public water systems for the purposes of replacing
lead service lines and funding lead service line replacement plans
under section 6109.43 of the Revised Code,
subject
to all of the following conditions:

(a)
The loans are made at or below market rates of interest, including,
without limitation, interest-free loans;

(b)
Each recipient of a loan shall establish a dedicated source of
security or revenue for repayment of the loan;

(c)
Periodic payments of principal and interest shall be required on the
dates and in the amounts approved by the director;

(d)
All payments of principal and interest on the loans shall be credited
to the water supply revolving loan account.

(2)
To purchase or refinance at or below market rates interest debt
obligations incurred after July 1, 1993, by municipal corporations,
other political subdivisions, and interstate agencies having
territory in the state. If any debt obligations are purchased or
refinanced under division (I)(2) of this section to provide financial
assistance for any of the purposes allowed under division (I) of this
section, the repayment period may extend up to forty-five years.
However, the repayment period shall not exceed the expected useful
life of any facilities that are financed by the obligations.

(3)
To guarantee or purchase insurance for debt obligations when the
guarantee or insurance would improve the borrower's access to credit
markets or would reduce the interest paid on those obligations;

(4)
As a source of revenue or security for the payment of principal and
interest on general obligation or revenue bonds or notes issued by
this state if the proceeds of the sale of the bonds or notes are or
will be deposited into the account;

(5)
To provide subsidies in addition to any other financial assistance
afforded disadvantaged communities under this section;

(6)
To earn interest on moneys credited to the account;

(7)
To provide any other assistance authorized by the Safe Drinking Water
Act or any other federal law related to the use of federal funds
administered under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

(J)
The director may provide financial assistance from the water supply
revolving loan account after determining all of the following:

(1)
The applicant for financial assistance has the legal, institutional,
managerial, and financial capability to construct, operate, and
maintain its public water system and the proposed improvements to it;

(2)
The applicant will implement a financial management plan that
includes, without limitation, provisions for satisfactory repayment
of the financial assistance;

(3)
The public water system of which the project for which assistance is
proposed is a part is economically and nonmonetarily cost-effective,
based on an evaluation of feasible alternatives that meet the
drinking water treatment needs of the planning area in which the
proposed project is located;

(4)
Based on a comprehensive environmental review approved by the
director, there are no significant adverse environmental effects
resulting from all necessary improvements to the public water system
of which the project proposed for assistance is a part;

(5)
Public participation has occurred during the process of planning the
project in compliance with applicable requirements under the Safe
Drinking Water Act;

(6)
The application meets the requirements of this section and rules
adopted under division (M) of this section and is consistent with
section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and regulations adopted
under it;

(7)
If the applicant for assistance is a water district formed under
Chapter 6119. of the Revised Code that operates a public water system
and that water district seeks to extend the distribution facilities,
increase the number of service connections to its system, or provide
for any other expansion of its system, the water district has
consulted with the board of county commissioners from each county in
which is located the proposed extension of distribution facilities,
increase in the number of service connections, or other expansion of
the public water system;

(8)
The application meets any other requirements that the director
considers necessary or appropriate to protect public health and the
environment and to ensure the financial integrity of the water supply
revolving loan account.

Upon
approval by the director of an application for financial assistance,
the Ohio water development authority shall disburse the appropriate
financial assistance from the water supply revolving loan account. If
the proposed financial assistance is a loan, and if the payments of
the principal or interest on the loan are or are expected to be
pledged to secure payment of bonds issued or expected to be issued by
the authority, the director shall submit the application for the loan
to the authority for review and approval with respect to any matters
pertaining to security for and the marketability of authority bonds.
Review and approval by the authority shall be required prior to the
making of such a loan.

(K)
In accordance with rules adopted under division (M) of this section,
the director periodically shall prepare a drinking water assistance
management plan establishing the short-term and long-term goals for
the assistance provided under this section, the allocation of
available resources for the purposes of this section, the
environmental, financial, and administrative terms, conditions, and
criteria for the award of financial and technical assistance under
this section, and the intended uses of capitalization grants and
available moneys from the drinking water assistance fund. Criteria
for awarding financial or technical assistance under this section
shall not favor or disfavor any otherwise qualified nonprofit
noncommunity public water system because it is owned by, operated by,
or services a religious organization or a facility used for religious
purposes. Prior to its adoption, the director shall make the drinking
water assistance management plan available for public review and
comment at a minimum of two public meetings and shall take adequate
steps to ensure that reasonable public notice of each public meeting
is given at least thirty days prior to the meeting.

The
plan shall include, without limitation, a system that prioritizes
projects funded by the water supply revolving loan account based on
the relative risk to human health being addressed, their necessity
for ensuring compliance with requirements of the Safe Drinking Water
Act, and their affordability to the applicants, as determined by the
director. Financial assistance for projects from the water supply
revolving loan account shall be limited to projects that are included
in that prioritization and shall be awarded based upon their priority
position and the applicants' readiness to proceed with their proposed
activities as determined by the director. The drinking water
assistance management plan shall include terms, conditions, amounts
of moneys, and qualifying criteria, in addition to any other criteria
established under this section, governing the financial assistance to
be awarded to applicants from the water supply revolving loan
account. The director shall determine the most effective use of the
moneys in that account to achieve the state's drinking water
assistance goals and objectives.

(L)
The director, consistent with this section and applicable rules
adopted under division (M) of this section, may enter into an
agreement with an applicant for assistance from the drinking water
assistance fund. Based on the director's review and approval of the
project plans submitted under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code,
any determinations made under division (J) of this section if an
applicant seeks funding from the water supply revolving loan account,
and any other requirements of this section and rules adopted under
it, the director may establish in the agreement environmental and
financial terms and conditions of the financial assistance to be
offered to the applicant. If the recipient of financial assistance
under this section defaults on any payment required in the agreement
for financial assistance or otherwise violates a term or condition of
the agreement or of the plan approval for the project under section
6109.07 of the Revised Code, the director, in addition to any other
available remedies, may terminate, suspend, or require immediate
repayment of the financial assistance. The director also may take any
enforcement action available under this chapter.

(M)
The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code for the implementation and administration of this
section. The rules shall be consistent with section 1452 of the Safe
Drinking Water Act.

(N)(1)
For the purposes of this section, appealable actions of the director
pursuant to section 3745.04 of the Revised Code are limited to the
following:

(a)
Adoption of the drinking water assistance management plan prepared
under division (K) of this section;

(b)
Approval of priority systems, priority lists, and written program
administration policies;

(c)
Approval or disapproval under this section of applicants' project
plans submitted under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code;

(d)
Approval or disapproval of an application for assistance.

(2)
Notwithstanding section 119.06 of the Revised Code, the director may
take the final actions described in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (d) of
this section without holding an adjudication hearing in connection
with the action and without first issuing a proposed action under
section 3745.07 of the Revised Code.

(3)
Each action described in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (d) of this section
and each approval of a plan under section 6109.07 of the Revised Code
is a separate and discrete action of the director. Appeals are
limited to the issues concerning the specific action appealed. Any
appeal shall not include issues determined under the scope of any
prior action.

(O)
The failure or inability of a public water system to obtain
assistance under this section does not alter the obligation of the
public water system to comply with all applicable requirements of
this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Sec.
6109.41.
The
director of environmental protection shall establish a lead service
line replacement program. The purpose and goal of the program is to
replace all lead service lines in Ohio within fifteen years after the
effective date of this section. In implementing the program, the
director shall do all of the following:

(A)
Adopt rules in accordance with section 6109.42 of the Revised Code;

(B)
Oversee the lead service line replacement plans approved and adopted
under section 6109.44 of the Revised Code;

(C)
Provide customer service support to those participating or attempting
to participate in the lead service line replacement program;

(D)
Collaborate with local authorities to identify grant programs that
can provide resources to public water systems for the purpose of
funding lead service line replacement;

(E)
Post information on the environmental protection agency's web site
about other sources of funding that are available to assist public
water systems with lead service line identification and replacement;

(F)
Take any other actions that the director determines necessary for the
administration and implementation of the lead service line
replacement program.

Sec.
6109.42.
(A)
Within one year of the effective date of this section, the director
of environmental protection shall adopt rules in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to establish standards and
procedures for administering and implementing the lead service line
replacement program created in section 6109.41 of the Revised Code.

(B)
The director shall ensure that the rules adopted under this section
establish all of the following:

(1)
A requirement that the owner or operator of a public water system
identify and oversee the removal of all lead service lines connected
to the system not later than fifteen years after the effective date
of this section;

(2)
Requirements and procedures for the submission of lead service line
replacement plans under section 6109.43 of the Revised Code;

(3)
Procedures for prioritizing lead service lines for replacement;

(4)
Procedures for identifying grant money that is available to public
water systems for lead service line replacement and notifying public
water systems of the availability of such grants;

(5)
Procedures that a public water system may follow to require a
customer to pay all or part of the costs of the replacement of the
customer's lead service line via a payment plan. The director shall
ensure that rules adopted under this division take into account a
customer's ability to pay and provide for payment exemptions for
customers who are of low or moderate income.

(6)
Procedures for the owner or operator of a public water system to
financially contribute to replacing the lead service line of a
customer who is of low or moderate income;

(7)
A requirement that the owner or operator of a public water system not
disconnect a customer's water service due to the customer's inability
to pay for lead service line replacement;

(8)
Requirements and procedures for owners and operators of public water
systems taking action under the rules adopted under divisions (B)(5)
to (7) of this section and under section 6109.51 of the Revised Code;

(9)
A requirement that the owner or operator of a public water system
that removes a lead service line shall remove the entire line, except
in cases of a public health or safety emergency. In such cases, the
requirement shall allow for a forty-five-day grace period for the
replacement of the entire lead service line.

(10)
Procedures by which the owner or operator of a public water system
shall provide a customer with educational resources regarding the
flushing of plumbing and use of water filters before, during, and
after a lead service line is replaced;

(11)
Procedures customers should follow when flushing service lines and
premises plumbing of particulate lead;

(12)
A requirement that the owner or operator of a public water system
provide water filters and replacement cartridges to a customer
before, during, and after lead service line replacement work;

(13)
Procedures for determining and verifying the composition of lead
status unknown service lines;

(14)
Requirements for the training and certification program required
under division (F) of section 6109.43 of the Revised Code;

(15)
Requirements and procedures necessary for compliance with 40 C.F.R.
141;

(16)
Any other requirements and procedures necessary for the
implementation and administration of the lead service line
replacement program.

(C)
Notwithstanding any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code
to the contrary, a regulatory restriction contained in a rule adopted
under this section is not subject to sections 121.95 to 121.953 of
the Revised Code.

Sec.
6109.43.
(A)
Not later than three years after the director of environmental
protection adopts rules under section 6109.42 of the Revised Code,
the owner or operator of a public water system shall submit a lead
service line replacement plan to the environmental protection agency
in accordance with those rules. The owner or operator of the public
water system shall update the lead service line replacement plan
annually.

(B)
A lead service line replacement plan shall include the following:

(1)
Information regarding whether there are lead service lines connected
to the public water system;

(2)
A water distribution system material inventory of all service lines.
An inventory shall identify all of the following:

(a)
The number and location of lead service lines, service lines that are
likely to have lead, and service lines that contain unknown material;

(b)
The number and location of lines described in division (B)(2)(a) of
this section that were added to the inventory after the prior year's
submission;

(c)
The number and location of lines described in division (B)(2)(a) of
this section that were replaced prior to the commencement of the
inventory;

(d)
All lead, galvanized requiring replacement, non-lead, and lead status
unknown service lines.

(3)
The number of lead service lines planned to be replaced over the
course of the fifteen years of the program, including a description
and map showing the locations of the lead service lines planned to be
replaced in each year and a description of how the lead service lines
were prioritized;

(4)
Any other information required by rule adopted under section 6109.42
of the Revised Code.

(C)
An owner or operator of a public water system shall include an
initial inventory described in division (B)(2) of this section with
the initial plan submitted under this section.

(D)
The environmental protection agency shall verify accuracy of
inventories submitted as part of lead service line replacement plans.

(E)
Using the data submitted in lead service line replacement plans and
any other available mapping information, the agency shall establish a
publicly available database that allows public water systems and the
public to consistently track and identify lead service line
replacement, which shall be available on the agency's web site.

(F)
The agency shall establish a training and certification program for
owners and operators of public water systems regarding best practices
for lead service line replacement. The training and certification
program also shall be for contractors and plumbers hired for lead
service line replacement.

Sec.
6109.44.
(A)
The director of environmental protection shall review, and approve or
disapprove, all lead service line replacement plans submitted under
section 6109.43 of the Revised Code. If the director determines that
a plan submitted by the owner or operator of a public water system
does not meet the requirements of that section and rules adopted
under section 6109.42 of the Revised Code, the director shall issue
an order requiring the owner or operator to submit a corrected plan.
The director shall indicate in the order which portions of the plan
must be corrected.

(B)
If the director determines that a corrected plan submitted by the
owner or operator of a public water system does not meet the
requirements of section 6109.43 of the Revised Code and rules adopted
under section 6109.42 of the Revised Code, the director shall adopt a
lead service line replacement plan on behalf of the owner or
operator.

(C)
No owner or operator of a public water system shall fail to submit a
lead service line replacement plan or a corrected plan under this
section. No owner or operator of a public water system shall fail to
properly implement a lead service line plan approved or adopted under
this section.

(D)
The owner or operator of a public water system is not eligible for a
grant issued by any state agency for the replacement of lead service
lines unless the owner or operator is properly implementing a lead
service line replacement plan approved or adopted under this section.

Sec.
6109.45.
As
used in this section, "lead service line replacement project"
means any project to remove or replace a lead service line that is
undertaken pursuant to the lead service line replacement program
created under sections 6109.41 to 6109.44 of the Revised Code.

For
purposes of section 4115.03 of the Revised Code, a lead service line
replacement project is a public improvement, and an owner or operator
of a public water system undertaking a lead service line replacement
project is a public authority. All contractors and subcontractors
working on a lead service line replacement project shall comply with
sections 4115.03 to 4115.16 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
6109.46.
The
owner or operator of a public water system or the owner or operator's
authorized representative may enter at reasonable times upon any
private or public property to replace lead service lines under the
program established under sections 6109.41 to 6109.44 of the Revised
Code. If entry or inspection authorized by this section is refused,
hindered, or thwarted, the owner or operator of the public water
system or the owner or operator's authorized representative may enter
the property without the consent of the owner of the private or
public property for the purposes of replacing the lead service lines.
Prior to entry without consent onto private or public property, the
owner or operator of the public water system or the owner or
operator's authorized representative shall provide the property owner
written notice before the owner or operator's representative enters
the property. The notice shall be provided not less than fourteen
days before entrance on the property.

Sec.
6109.47.
Sections
6109.48 to 6109.51 of the Revised Code do not grant authority to a
water-works company, as defined in section 4905.03 of the Revised
Code, that is a public utility under section 4905.02 of the Revised
Code.

Sec.
6109.48.
The
owner or operator of a public water system may replace non-lead
service lines when mandated or ordered to replace such lines by law
or a state or federal regulatory agency.

Sec.
6109.49.
The
owner or operator of a public water system may reimburse a customer
who replaces lead service lines on the customer's property if both of
the following occur:

(A)
The owner or operator confirms that the lead service lines were
composed of lead.

(B)
The customer who replaced the lead service lines submits the
reimbursement request to the owner or operator not later than twelve
months after the completion of the replacement of the lines.

Sec.
6109.50.
The
owner or operator of a public water system may reimburse a customer
who replaces non-lead service lines on the customer's property if
both of the following occur:

(A)
The owner or operator confirms that the non-lead service lines were
of a composition that was mandated or ordered to be replaced by law
or a state or federal regulatory agency.

(B)
The customer who replaced the non-lead service lines submits the
reimbursement request to the owner or operator not later than twelve
months after the completion of the replacement of the lines.

Sec.
6109.51.
The
owner or operator of a public water system may recover costs from the
following through rates, rents, charges, or other amounts imposed on
system customers:

(A)
Replacing lead service lines and determining and verifying the
composition of lead status unknown service lines under section
6109.42 of the Revised Code;

(B)
Replacing non-lead service lines under section 6109.48 of the Revised
Code;

(C)
Reimbursing a customer under sections 6109.49 and 6109.50 of the
Revised Code.

Sec.
6115.531.
A
sanitary district may utilize sections 6109.48 to 6109.51 of the
Revised Code regarding the replacement, and the recovery of costs of
replacement and replacement reimbursement, of lead and non-lead
service lines.

Sec.
6119.062.
A
regional water and sewer district may utilize sections 6109.48 to
6109.51 of the Revised Code regarding the replacement, and the
recovery of costs of replacement and replacement reimbursement, of
lead and non-lead service lines.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 6109.01 and 6109.22 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.

Section
3.
This
act shall be known as the Lead Line Replacement Act.