N.J. lawmakers propose mandatory testing for lead in schools' water
TRENTON -- Amid revelations that the drinking water in nearly half of Newark’s public schools had elevated levels of lead, New Jersey lawmakers are proposing legislation that would require every school in the state to test its water for the contaminant.
TRENTON -- Amid revelations that the drinking water in nearly half of Newark's public schools had elevated levels of lead, New Jersey lawmakers are proposing legislation that would require every school in the state to test its water for the contaminant.
Schools would be required to test their drinking water immediately, and twice annually thereafter. Lawmakers said the plan would provide $3 million to the Department of Education to reimburse school districts for the first year of testing.
"It's something that needs to be addressed now," Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) said at a Statehouse news conference Monday.
Experts say lead-based paint is a more pervasive problem, but the crisis in Flint, Mich., and revelations in Newark have put a spotlight on contaminated drinking water. Earlier this month, officials announced they had discovered elevated levels of lead at 30 of Newark's 67 public schools.
The affected schools shut down their water fountains. A private laboratory conducts testing for the city's school district.
"We didn't know there wasn't a standard for testing water," Sweeney said at the news conference, where he was joined by Sens. Ron Rice and Teresa Ruiz, both Essex County Democrats. "Unfortunately, yeah, now it's catch-up."
Sweeney said the legislation would require all schools -- public and private -- to test their water. If tests show elevated levels of lead -- 15 parts per billion, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- the schools would be required to take corrective action, such as installing water filters.
The legislation would appropriate $20 million from the state's clean energy fund to cover those costs.
Lawmakers acknowledged that the bill wouldn't fix the underlying problem: the state's aging infrastructure. "We need new buildings for our schools," Ruiz said.
But the legislation would help the state to identify which schools need upgrades and allow lawmakers to proceed from there, Sweeney said.
