Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1851 Drinking water: schoolsites: lead testing pilot program.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that there is no safe level of lead in children.
(2) The State Department of Public Health reports that lead exposure at very low levels can cause learning, behavioral, and attention difficulties in children, and nervous system and organ damage. Exposure to high levels of lead can be fatal.
(3) No effective treatments ameliorate the long-lasting developmental effects of lead toxicity, and it is believed that these effects are permanent.
(4) As of December 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that as much as 20 percent of a child’s lead exposure comes from lead in drinking water, when water lead levels are five parts per billion. Drinking water can be an even larger source of lead exposure for infants who consume mostly water-based formula.
(5) The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level goal, the value the agency deems acceptable for health, is zero for lead in water.
(6) In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that state and local governments take steps to ensure that water fountains in schools do not exceed water lead concentrations of one part per billion.
(7) Recent drinking water testing at over 6,500 California childcare centers found high levels of lead in one in four childcare centers’ drinking water. Many childcare centers’ lead levels were 10 to 1,000 times the allowable amount. One childcare center’s water contained 11,500 parts per billion of lead, which is 2,200 times the allowable amount.
(8) The federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements proposed rule would require only voluntary, limited testing of the drinking water in schools and childcare facilities, and would not require any remediation of elevated lead levels in those facilities. Instead, states are tasked with ensuring that the drinking water in schools and childcare facilities is safe. The pilot program developed by this act will provide the state needed data and analysis to take informed action to protect children.
(9) California has received federal funding pursuant to the federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program and according to federal regulations applicable to that program, these funds must be used proactively on new and eligible projects, which explicitly include lead testing and remediation in schools.
(b) It is therefore the goal of the state to ensure that water served to or consumed by children while they attend school or are cared for in licensed childcare facilities contains no more than zero parts per billion of lead.

SEC. 2.

 Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 32247) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:

Article  4.5. Schoolsite Lead Testing
32247.
 For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Eligible facility” means a facility that is on a schoolsite and that has plumbing that was installed before January 1, 2010.
(b) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(c) “Participating local educational agency” means a local educational agency that has been selected by the Superintendent to participate in the pilot program and has consented to participation pursuant to Section 32247.5.
(d) “Pilot program” means the program established in this article.
(e) “Potable water system outlet” means all cold water outlets, including single-handle faucets that dispense both hot and cold water, which are reasonably expected to be used for drinking and food preparation as depicted in Module 4 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities” manual.
(f) “Technical assistance provider” means a public institution of higher education selected by the Superintendent that provides technical assistance to participating local educational agencies for purposes of the pilot program.
32247.5.
 (a) The Superintendent shall establish a pilot program to accomplish both of the following:
(1) Test for and remediate lead contamination in drinking water at eligible facilities of participating local educational agencies.
(2) Inform recommendations, developed pursuant to Section 32248, for addressing lead contamination in drinking water in local educational agencies across the state.
(b) The Superintendent shall select no fewer than 6 and no more than 10 local educational agencies of varying enrollment sizes and notify those local educational agencies of their selection by July 1, 2025. In selecting local educational agencies, the Superintendent shall give priority to the following:
(1) Local educational agencies with at least one school that serves pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, where at least 75 percent of the pupils enrolled in the school are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals, as defined in Section 42238.01.
(2) Local educational agencies with schools that are located in a disadvantaged community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) (1) A local educational agency shall not be required to participate in the pilot program.
(2) A local educational agency choosing to participate in the pilot program shall provide the following to the Superintendent within 90 days of the Superintendent’s decision and notification pursuant to subdivision (b):
(A) Written consent.
(B) Information deemed necessary by the Superintendent to confirm that the local educational agency has at least one eligible facility and to calculate the amount of grant funding to be issued to the local educational agency pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) (1) The Superintendent shall provide grants to participating local educational agencies for testing drinking water lead levels, remediating lead in drinking water at eligible facilities, and contracting with the technical assistance provider.
(2) (A) For purposes of providing grants to participating local educational agencies pursuant to paragraph (1), the Superintendent shall provide grant funding to each participating local educational agency according to the enrollment from the most recent year available at the schoolsites with the eligible facilities.
(B) Any unspent funds after July 1, 2027, shall be returned to the Superintendent and disbursed by the Superintendent to other grantees in need of additional funding for testing or remediation. A local educational agency that receives additional redistributed funds after July 1, 2027, may use those funds for testing or remediation until December 31, 2027.
(3) Administrative and managerial contracts entered into under this section are exempt from Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 10290) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code and the Superintendent may award those contracts on a noncompetitive bid basis as necessary to implement the purposes of this article.
(e) The technical assistance provider shall advise participating local educational agencies on the drinking water lead level sampling, remediation, and notification requirements specified in subdivisions (f) and (g).
(f) Participating local educational agencies shall ensure that drinking water sampling pursuant to this article meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Sampling for lead in drinking water shall be conducted at all potable water system outlets of an eligible facility.
(2) Sampling shall be conducted in accordance with Modules 4 and 5 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities” manual, or subsequent United States Environmental Protection Agency guidance as identified by the State Water Resources Control Board. Flushing shall not be used to collect a first draw sample.
(3) A laboratory that evaluates a water sample for purposes of this section shall have current accreditation pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 100825) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 101 of the Health and Safety Code.
(g) (1) If sampling results show lead levels in excess of five parts per billion in water at any potable water system outlet, the participating local educational agency shall do all of the following:
(A) (i) Notify the parents and guardians of the pupils who attend the school where the elevated lead levels are found no later than 30 schooldays after receiving the test results during the school year, or otherwise within 60 days after receiving the sampling results, and provide information developed by the State Department of Public Health on the impact of elevated lead levels on children.
(ii) The participating local educational agency may include a description of a remediation plan as part of the notice provided pursuant to clause (i).
(B) Take immediate steps to make inoperable and shut down all potable water use at potable water system outlets where the excess lead levels may exist.
(C) (i) Ensure that a lead-free source of drinking water is provided for pupils at each potable water system outlet that has been shut down due to elevated lead levels.
(ii) For purposes of clause (i), providing a lead-free source of drinking water may include, but is not limited to, replacing any potable water system outlets, providing onsite water filtration, or providing bottled water.
(D) Retest water at potable water system outlets where replacement was used to remediate excess levels of lead, to determine if the remediation successfully reduced lead levels to below five parts per billion.
(E) Conduct additional sampling of water at potable water system outlets as recommended by the technical assistance provider to investigate the source of lead contamination, and consult with the technical assistance provider to identify additional remediation options, if results from the sampling required under subparagraph (D) continue to show lead levels in excess of five parts per billion.
(2) A potable water system outlet shall not be used to provide potable water until test results show lead levels below five parts per billion.
(3) In meeting the requirements of this subdivision, the participating local educational agency shall select the remediation method, except that a participating local educational agency shall not attempt to remediate excess levels of lead by flushing the water through a potable water system outlet.
(4) If onsite water filtration is used to meet the requirements of this subdivision, the onsite water filtration device shall be certified by an independent American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited third-party certification body to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction and NSF/ANSI 42 for particulate reduction (Class 1).
(5) In meeting the requirements of this subdivision, a fixture shall meet the requirements of Sections 116875 and 116876 of the Health and Safety Code.
32248.
 (a) On or before September 1, 2027, the technical assistance provider shall make testing results received from participating local educational agencies to date available upon request.
(b) On or before January 1, 2028, participating local educational agencies shall report to the technical assistance provider, and the technical assistance provider shall report to the Superintendent, the following information in a standard electronic format:
(1) The name of the participating local educational agency.
(2) The name of the school where sampling was conducted pursuant to this article.
(3) The school address.
(4) The identification number for the potable water system outlet.
(5) The date sampling was conducted.
(6) The amount of lead contained in the sample, in parts per billion.
(7) A description of any remediation action taken, reported as any of the following categories:
(A) Replacement of potable water system outlets.
(B) Filtration device installed.
(C) Potable water system outlet decommissioned.
(D) Replaced potable water system outlet failed to reduce lead levels to less than five parts per billion.
(E) Bottled water or other alternative source of water provided.
(F) Other, including alternative remediation actions in which a replaced potable water system outlet has failed to reduce lead levels to less than five parts per billion.
(c) On or before July 1, 2028, the technical assistance provider shall provide the Superintendent with a report containing a completed analysis of the pilot program’s results. The analysis shall analyze the pilot program’s sampling results, and the sampling, remediation, and notification methods employed during the pilot program. The analysis shall also do all of the following:
(1) Provide a better understanding of the level and sources of lead contamination in drinking water in California’s public schools. A full description of the information provided to the technical assistance provider pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be provided, as well as the number and location of schools that found water at a potable water system outlet with lead levels exceeding five parts per billion.
(2) Provide recommendations on all of the following:
(A) The most health-protective and cost-effective sampling and remediation strategies for addressing drinking water lead contamination in schools, and reducing lead levels in drinking water at all potable water system outlets in schools to as close to zero lead as possible, but no more than five parts per billion.
(B) Strategies for protecting the health of all pupils, especially pupils attending schools in which at least 75 percent of the pupils enrolled are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals, and schools located in a disadvantaged community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C) Addressing the needs, implementation, and capacity challenges of local educational agencies of varying enrollment sizes, and of varying geographic locations.
(D) Promoting effective communication between local educational agencies and parents, caregivers, and the public on drinking water lead level concerns, and supporting the ability of local educational agencies to engage in effective collaboration with partners to accomplish drinking water lead sampling and remediation.
(3) Compare the cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and potential challenges and health benefits of implementing the short-term and permanent control measures specified in Module 6 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities” manual on school campuses.
(d) On or before July 15, 2028, the Superintendent shall provide the report developed pursuant to subdivision (c) to the Department of Finance and the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The Superintendent shall make the report and the information provided to the technical assistance provider pursuant to subdivision (b) publicly available on the department’s internet website.
32248.5.
 To the extent available, moneys deposited in the Federal Trust Fund, which were received under the federal State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program and are available for expenditure on water infrastructure projects, shall be used for purposes of this article.