I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 852 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to address lead contamination in 
school drinking water. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 29, 2019 
Mrs. LAWRENCE (for herself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. DEMINGS, 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. RYAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 
Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CLAY, Mr. BRENDAN F. 
BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. 
GARAMENDI, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. MENG, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. 
COHEN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 
New York, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SOTO, 
Mr. POCAN, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
SERRANO, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to address lead 
contamination in school drinking water. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Get the Lead Out of 
Schools Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SCHOOL TESTING AND NOTIFICATION; GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 1464 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 
U.S.C. 300j–24) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) TESTING AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
FOR PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS THAT SERVE SCHOOLS.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
subsection, the Administrator shall promulgate a national 
primary drinking water regulation for school drinking 
water that— 
‘‘(1) establishes a lead action level that is not 
more than the lead action level established by the 
Administrator under section 1412(b); 
‘‘(2) requires each public water system to sam-
ple for lead in the drinking water at such schools as 
the Administrator determines to have a risk of lead 
in the drinking water at a level that meets or ex-
ceeds the lead action level established under para-
graph (1); and 
‘‘(3) in the case of results of sampling under 
paragraph (2) that indicate that the drinking water 
of a school contains lead that meets or exceeds the 
lead action level established under paragraph (1), re-
quires the public water system that serves the school 
to notify the local educational agency that has juris-
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diction over the school, the relevant local health 
agencies, the municipality, and the State as soon as 
practicable, but not later than 24 hours after the 
public water system receives the sampling results. 
‘‘(f) SCHOOL LEAD TESTING
AND REMEDIATION 
GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION
OF
ELIGIBLE
ENTITY.—In 
this subsection, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a local educational agency (as defined 
in subsection (d)(1)); or 
‘‘(B) a State agency that administers a 
statewide program to test for, or remediate, 
lead contamination in drinking water. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
the Administrator shall establish a grant program to 
make grants available to eligible entities to test for, 
and remediate, lead contamination in school drinking 
water. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this subsection may use 
grant funds— 
‘‘(i) to recover the costs incurred by 
the eligible entity for testing for lead con-
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tamination in school drinking water con-
ducted by an entity approved by the Ad-
ministrator or the State to conduct the 
testing; or 
‘‘(ii) to replace lead pipes, pipe fit-
tings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures of 
any school with drinking water that con-
tains a level of lead that meets or exceeds 
the action level established by the Adminis-
trator under subsection (e)(1) with lead 
free (as defined in section 1417) pipes, 
pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fix-
tures. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 5 per-
cent of grant funds accepted under this sub-
section shall be used to pay the administrative 
costs of testing for, or remediation of, lead con-
tamination. 
‘‘(4) GUIDANCE; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—As a 
condition of receiving a grant under this subsection, 
an eligible entity shall— 
‘‘(A) expend grant funds in accordance 
with— 
‘‘(i) the guidance of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency entitled ‘3Ts for 
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Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in 
Schools: Revised Technical Guidance’ and 
dated October 2006 (or any successor 
guidance); or 
‘‘(ii) applicable State regulations or 
guidance regarding the reduction of lead in 
drinking water in schools that is not less 
stringent than the guidance referred to in 
clause (i), as determined by the Adminis-
trator; 
‘‘(B) make publicly available, including, to 
the maximum extent practicable, on the Inter-
net website of the eligible entity, a copy of the 
results of any testing for lead contamination in 
school drinking water that is carried out with 
funds under this subsection; and 
‘‘(C) notify parent, teacher, and employee 
organizations of the availability of the results 
described in subparagraph (B).’’. 
Æ 
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