Bill Text: TX HB2998 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-06 - Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm. [HB2998 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB2998-Introduced.html
86R8046 SLB-D | ||
By: Talarico | H.B. No. 2998 |
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relating to lead in drinking water at schools and child care | ||
facilities. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 341.040, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 341.040. DEFINITIONS [ |
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subchapter: | ||
(1) "Child care facility" has the meaning assigned by | ||
Section 88.001. | ||
(2) "Commission" [ |
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Commission on Environmental Quality. | ||
(3) "Drinking water outlet" means any water fountain, | ||
faucet, or tap regularly used for drinking or food preparation, | ||
including ice-making and hot drink machines. | ||
(4) "Elevated lead level" means a lead concentration | ||
in drinking water that exceeds one part per billion. | ||
(5) "Executive director" means the executive director | ||
of the commission. | ||
(6) "Lead service line" means a pipe and its fittings, | ||
which are not lead free as defined by the federal Safe Drinking | ||
Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300g-6), that connect a drinking water | ||
main to a drinking water outlet. | ||
(7) "Local health department" has the meaning assigned | ||
by Section 88.001. | ||
(8) "Open-enrollment charter school" and "private | ||
school" have the meanings assigned by Section 5.001, Education | ||
Code. | ||
(9) "Public water system" has the meaning assigned by | ||
Section 15.602, Water Code. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 341, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Sections 341.051, 341.052, 341.053, | ||
341.054, and 341.055 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 341.051. LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT. (a) Each | ||
public water system shall fully replace lead service lines in each | ||
public school, private school, or child care facility that is | ||
served by the public water system. The replacement shall be paid | ||
for by the public water system, regardless of ownership of any | ||
portion of the service line, and shall be performed in coordination | ||
with the relevant municipality, school, or child care facility. The | ||
replacement must conform to the commission's technical guidance | ||
under Section 341.055. | ||
(b) A public water system shall provide each school | ||
district, open-enrollment charter school, private school, and | ||
child care facility that the public water system serves any | ||
information in its possession relating to the location of lead | ||
service lines. Each school district, open-enrollment charter | ||
school, private school, and child care facility shall determine | ||
which of its buildings receive drinking water through lead service | ||
lines and report the information to the commission. | ||
(c) The commission shall ensure that lead service lines are | ||
disposed of in accordance with hazardous waste laws and not | ||
disposed of in a landfill or incinerated. | ||
Sec. 341.052. PREVENTING LEAD CONTAMINATION. (a) Each | ||
public school, private school, and child care facility shall | ||
develop and adopt a plan of action to prevent elevated lead levels | ||
in all water used for drinking or cooking. The plan of action must | ||
include: | ||
(1) installing and maintaining filters certified by | ||
the National Sanitation Foundation at all drinking water outlets in | ||
each school or facility building; and | ||
(2) an inventory of lead-bearing parts within the | ||
school or facility's water delivery system, including fixtures and | ||
plumbing with lead soldering. | ||
(b) A public school, private school, or child care facility | ||
may, if consistent with other obligations in law, remove some | ||
drinking water outlets from operation, instead of installing | ||
filters on those outlets, if every child has reasonable access to | ||
free, safe drinking water. | ||
(c) To the extent that replacement is both feasible and | ||
cost-effective, each public school, private school, or child care | ||
facility shall replace the items identified in the lead-bearing | ||
parts inventory under Subsection (a)(2). | ||
(d) The plan of action adopted under Subsection (a) may | ||
include any other measures to reduce lead contamination of drinking | ||
water outlets, consistent with the commission's technical guidance | ||
under Section 341.055. | ||
(e) A public school, private school, or child care facility | ||
may revise the school or facility's plan of action, especially in | ||
response to public input, if the plan of action complies with the | ||
commission's technical guidance under Section 341.055. | ||
(f) A public school, private school, or child care facility | ||
may seek the assistance of a local health department, a public water | ||
system, or the commission to comply with the provisions of this | ||
section. | ||
(g) Nothing in this section prevents a public school, | ||
private school, or child care facility from conducting more | ||
immediate lead remediation when a test indicates that a drinking | ||
water outlet has an elevated lead level, as provided by Section | ||
341.053(c). | ||
Sec. 341.053. TESTING AND REMEDIATION. (a) Each public | ||
school, private school, or child care facility shall undertake | ||
periodic testing of the drinking water outlets in each school or | ||
child care facility for the presence of lead. Each test for lead | ||
shall be conducted by a laboratory certified for this purpose by the | ||
executive director, in accordance with the sampling and testing | ||
methods specified in the technical guidance under Section 341.055. | ||
Each school or child care facility shall perform the testing | ||
required by this section at least once per year, unless the | ||
executive director determines, on a case-by-case basis, that a | ||
greater or lesser frequency of testing is necessary or sufficient | ||
to ensure the public health, including timely testing after | ||
replacement of lead service lines. | ||
(b) Nothing in this section prevents a public school, | ||
private school, or child care facility from conducting more | ||
frequent testing than required under this section. | ||
(c) If testing reveals an elevated lead level at a drinking | ||
water outlet, the public school, private school, or child care | ||
facility shall, not later than 24 hours after receiving the test | ||
results, close off access to the drinking water outlet and report | ||
the test results to the commission. Not later than the 30th day | ||
after receiving test results showing one or more drinking water | ||
outlets have elevated levels of lead, the public school, private | ||
school, or child care facility must either: | ||
(1) permanently shut or close off access to the | ||
affected drinking water outlets and provide an alternative source | ||
of safe water without elevated lead levels; or | ||
(2) install and maintain filters certified by the | ||
National Sanitation Foundation at the drinking water outlets that | ||
have elevated lead levels. | ||
(d) A public school, private school, or child care facility | ||
shall take additional measures if necessary to eliminate elevated | ||
lead levels at the drinking water outlets, consistent with the | ||
technical guidance under Section 341.055. | ||
Sec. 341.054. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW. (a) | ||
Each public school, private school, or child care facility shall: | ||
(1) submit to the commission, the Texas Education | ||
Agency, and the department: | ||
(A) the plan of action adopted under Section | ||
341.052 and any modifications to the plan; and | ||
(B) information on testing activities conducted | ||
under Section 341.053, including: | ||
(i) the date the testing was completed; | ||
(ii) the location and type of each drinking | ||
water outlet tested; | ||
(iii) the complete results of each test; | ||
and | ||
(iv) any measures being taken under Section | ||
341.053(c) to remediate a drinking water outlet found to have an | ||
elevated lead level; | ||
(2) maintain copies of information submitted under | ||
Subdivision (1) in a suitable location for inspection by the public | ||
and on the Internet website of the school or facility; | ||
(3) notify parent, teacher, and employee | ||
organizations of the availability of the submitted information; and | ||
(4) designate a person to serve as the contact person | ||
for communications with the commission and the public regarding the | ||
lead testing and remediation activities. | ||
(b) If testing conducted under Section 341.053 reveals an | ||
elevated lead level at a drinking water outlet, the public school, | ||
private school, or child care facility shall, within one business | ||
day, directly notify teachers, school personnel, and the parent of | ||
or person standing in parental relation to each student through | ||
written notice, electronic mail, or other means approved by the | ||
commission. The notification must include: | ||
(1) a summary of the results of the testing and | ||
information on the availability of the complete test results for | ||
public inspection at a suitable location and on the Internet | ||
website of the school or facility; | ||
(2) a description of any remedial measures being taken | ||
under Section 341.053; | ||
(3) general information on the public health effects | ||
and risks posed by lead in drinking water and information on the | ||
availability of additional resources concerning lead in drinking | ||
water, as outlined in the technical guidance under Section 341.055; | ||
and | ||
(4) the name and contact information of the person | ||
designated under Subsection (a)(4) to communicate with the public. | ||
(c) At each drinking water outlet, the public school, | ||
private school, or child care facility shall post an electronically | ||
accessible code with information on testing and remediation for | ||
that outlet. The information must include the maintenance schedule | ||
and log for installed filters certified by the National Sanitation | ||
Foundation, unless the drinking water outlet is equipped with a | ||
clearly visible indicator for filter replacement. | ||
Sec. 341.055. TECHNICAL GUIDANCE. (a) The commission shall | ||
issue technical guidance that is at least as protective of the | ||
public health as the technical guidance for reducing lead in | ||
drinking water at schools issued by the United States Environmental | ||
Protection Agency. Provisions of the technical guidance related to | ||
testing to determine the presence and level of lead in water must be | ||
designed to maximize detection of lead in water and must prohibit | ||
sampling or testing methods that tend to mask lead contamination, | ||
including pre-stagnation flushing and removal of aerators prior to | ||
sampling. | ||
(b) The commission shall provide the technical guidance | ||
described by Subsection (a), a list of laboratories certified to | ||
conduct lead testing, and any other information the commission | ||
considers appropriate to each school district, open-enrollment | ||
charter school, private school, and child care facility. | ||
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas | ||
Commission on Environmental Quality shall order each public water | ||
system to replace all lead service lines at each public school, | ||
private school, and child care facility as required by Section | ||
341.051(a), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(b) Not later than September 1, 2022, each public water | ||
system shall fully replace lead service lines at all public | ||
schools, private schools, and child care facilities that it serves, | ||
as required by Section 341.051(a), Health and Safety Code, as added | ||
by this Act. | ||
(c) Not later than October 1, 2019, each public water system | ||
shall provide school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, | ||
private schools, and child care facilities that it serves with | ||
information relating to the location of lead service lines, as | ||
required by Section 341.051(b), Health and Safety Code, as added by | ||
this Act. | ||
(d) Not later than November 1, 2019, each school district, | ||
open-enrollment charter school, private school, and child care | ||
facility shall inform the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | ||
which buildings are served by lead service lines as required by | ||
Section 341.051(b), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(e) Not later than March 1, 2020, each public school, | ||
private school, and child care facility shall adopt a plan of action | ||
to prevent elevated lead levels in all water used for drinking or | ||
cooking as required by Section 341.052(a), Health and Safety Code, | ||
as added by this Act. | ||
(f) Not later than March 1, 2021, each public school, | ||
private school, and child care facility shall install and maintain | ||
filters certified by the National Sanitation Foundation, as | ||
required by Section 341.052(a), Health and Safety Code, as added by | ||
this Act. | ||
(g) Not later than September 1, 2021, each public school, | ||
private school, and child care facility shall replace the items | ||
identified in the lead-bearing parts inventory, as required by | ||
Section 341.052(c), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(h) Not later than December 1, 2019, each public school, | ||
private school, or child care facility shall perform an initial | ||
test of each drinking water outlet, as required by Section | ||
341.053(a), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(i) Not later than October 15, 2019, the Texas Commission on | ||
Environmental Quality shall post the technical guidance required by | ||
Section 341.055, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, on | ||
the commission's Internet website. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |