86R8046 SLB-D
 
  By: Talarico H.B. No. 2998
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  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 [DEFINITION]. In this
  subchapter:
               (1)  "Child care facility" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 88.001.
               (2)  "Commission" [, "commission"] means the Texas
  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.