Get the Lead Out of Schools Act

Bill: 115-s-1401
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
Introduced: 2017-06-21
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Child care and development

Child health

Education programs funding

Educational facilities and institutions

Elementary and secondary education

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Environmental assessment, monitoring, research

Environmental regulatory procedures

Government information and archives

Hazardous wastes and toxic substances

Water quality

Water use and supply
Latest action: action_date: 2017-06-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-06-21
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Get the Lead Out of Schools Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for schools and day care facilities that: (1) establishes a lead action level (a level of lead in drinking water that triggers additional actions to control lead contamination) of at least 15 parts per billion; (2) directs each public water system to sample for lead in the drinking water at schools and day care facilities if the EPA determines there is a risk that the lead in the drinking water will meet or exceed the action level; and (3) directs public water systems that serve schools or day cares that meet or exceed the action level to notify the local educational agency, the relevant local health agencies, the municipality, and the state as soon as practicable, but no later than five business days after the system receives the sampling results.</p> <p>The EPA must also establish a grant program for: (1) testing drinking water in schools and day care facilities for lead contamination, and (2) remediating lead contamination in such drinking water by replacing lead pipes and certain plumbing materials with lead-free material.</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1401 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 21, 2017 Ms. Duckworth (for herself and Mr. Booker ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to address lead contamination in school drinking water.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Get the Lead Out of Schools Act . 2. School testing and notification; grant program Section 1464 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–24 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (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 less than the lead action level established by the Administrator under section 1412(b); (2) requires each public water system to sample 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 exceeds the lead action level established under paragraph (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), requires the public water system that serves the school to notify the local educational agency that has jurisdiction over the school, the relevant local health agencies, the municipality, and the State as soon as practicable, but not later than 5 business days after the date on which 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 contamination in school drinking water conducted by an entity approved by the Administrator or the State to conduct the testing; or (ii) to replace lead pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures of any school with drinking water that contains a level of lead that meets or exceeds the action level established by the Administrator under subsection (e)(1) with lead free (as defined in section 1417) pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures. (B) Limitation Not more than 5 percent of grant funds accepted under this subsection shall be used to pay the administrative costs of testing for, or remediation of, lead contamination. (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 Environmental Protection Agency entitled 3Ts for 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 Administrator; (B) make publicly available, including, to the maximum extent practicable, on the Internet 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). .