Bill Text: NJ S3792 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs DEP to adopt regulations concerning identification and testing of microplastics in drinking water.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-20 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S3792 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3792-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Directs DEP to adopt regulations concerning identification and testing of microplastics in drinking water.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the identification and testing of microplastics in drinking water and supplementing P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Drinking Water Quality Institute established pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1983, c.443 (C.58:12A-20) shall study the issue of microplastics in drinking water and, within two years after the effective date of this act, recommend to the Department of Environmental Protection a definition of microplastics in drinking water.
2. No later than three years after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection shall:
a. Adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics;
b. Adopt requirements for four years of testing and reporting the concentration of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems, including public disclosure of test results; and
c. Accredit qualified laboratories in New Jersey to analyze microplastics.
3. The Department of Environmental Protection may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) to study the issue of microplastics in drinking water. It also requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt regulations related to the sampling and testing for the presence of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems.
The bill directs the DWQI to recommend a definition of microplastics in drinking water within two years after the enactment date. The bill also directs the DEP, within three years after the enactment date, to adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics, to formulate requirements for testing and reporting the concentration of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems, and to accredit qualified laboratories in New Jersey to analyze microplastics.
In a recent study of drinking water in the United States, 94 percent of the samples contained microplastics, including a sample collected from the United States Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. Microplastics may absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment, such as harmful bacteria found in wastewater treatment plants. Microplastics also may contain chemicals left over from the manufacturing process.
