NEW JERSEY—At last, those looking to find out how much lead was found in local schools’ water can find all the statewide school lead testing results in one place.
A centralized online database that allows parents to search the most recent school lead test results available was launched Nov. 20 by state officials, following recent calls by multiple state legislators and officials—including Gov. Phil Murphy—for more transparency in lead testing results and easy access to lead testing results.
The repository for all state lead testing can be found online at the state Department of Education at: https://www.nj.gov/education/lead/lead-report.html.
Since 2017, Gottheimer has been calling on the state to create a centralized reporting website for school lead test results, especially following a recent survey his staff conducted that found nearly one in five school districts in Gottheimer’s fifth congressional district did not post results.
A survey by Northern Valley Press found that of 22 northeast Bergen County towns covered by our newspapers, most did post results and followed up with remediation measures to reduce lead levels in cases where federal lead standards of 15 parts per billion were exceeded.
In some cases, finding the lead test results online was difficult or confusing as most required searching under various tabs or menus and few were easy to locate. Often, a “search” of the site was the quickest way to find the results.
Most school lead testing was conducted in 2017, and state officials found while most districts posted results, some did not and some did not do required testing. The state database provides links to individual district websites.
‘A critical part’
“In October, I announced a three-pronged strategy to address lead in schools, and I am proud that a month later, the Department of Education implemented a critical part of our plan. By mobilizing the state’s resources to modernize reporting mechanisms and increase public transparency, we are fulfilling our commitment to ensure New Jersey’s children and educators have access to clean, safe drinking water in our schools,” said Gov. Murphy in a statement Nov. 20.
In early October, Murphy joined with U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-Fifth District) to call for a centralized state database for school lead test results and to urge the state education department to issue regulations requiring school lead testing every three years, and not six years as currently mandated.
“Every child deserves to drink water that’s free of lead, and every parent deserves to know if their child’s school has lead in their pipes, sinks, or water fountains,” said Gottheimer. “Starting today, parents and communities will have easy-to-access and up-to-date information on their child’s school’s water. It’s a level of transparency many of us have been calling on for years now.”
Replace lead pipes in 10 years
Murphy also called for a 10-year expedited plan to replace all existing lead water pipes statewide, mirroring a recommendation in a report issued by a multi-stakeholder collaborative working on lead in drinking water—called Jersey Water Works—which issued a report urging replacement of existing lead service lines.
Following the report’s release, Murphy proposed remediating statewide lead problems with a $500 million bond issue in November 2020 to help water utilities replace an estimated 350,000 lead service lines.
He also suggested utilities be able to apply a surcharge to cover replacement costs—estimated at between $3,000 to $8,000 per home. Initial replacement estimates put the total tab as high as $2 billion statewide.
Currently, Suez Water North-America, which began an expedited lead line replacement effort this year, has proposed a customer lead line replacement program incorporating an undetermined surcharge and now pending before the state Board of Public Utilities.
The program is opposed by the state Division of Rate Counsel due to its unspecified surcharge and well-established legal precedent that ratepayers cannot be charged for work on property not owned by the utility, said Rate Counsel officials.
The case was transferred to the state Office of Administrative Law for a decision, which then comes back to BPU for review. No decision has been announced.
Elevated lead levels
The utility also began an expedited lead line replacement program following disclosure of elevated lead levels in 15 of 108 homes with lead lines tested in late 2018. It anticipates removing about 2,400 lead service lines this year, including lead connections known as goosenecks that connect the main service lines to smaller lines that enter a customer’s home or business.
Spring 2020 grant funds
Despite repeated calls for release of funds from $100 million allocated for school lead remediation under a voter-approved 2018 state bond act—which allocated $500 million for a variety of school security and vocational education projects—the funds are unlikely to be allocated until Spring 2020, according to Murphy.
“Are folks frustrated it’s taken this long? Count me on that list. But that’s not for a lack of a lot of work, literally moving heaven and earth. This is really complicated stuff. What we’re saying today explicitly…districts that have a lead exceedance in their measurements will be eligible to be first in the queue for the money,” Murphy told reporters in November.
In Congress, a critical piece of Gottheimer’s Lead-Free Schools Act, which was enacted into law last year, created a targeted pilot program with existing resources to improve drinking water infrastructure in schools with elevated lead levels nationwide.
Murphy’s proposed plan would allow private water utilities to raise rates to cover customer lead line replacement costs.
Disclose all lead sources
Moreover, he proposes to require homeowners to disclose all sources of lead in the home, whether in lead service lines or lead paint, and create a “lead-free” inspection certificate program for home buyers or renters.
Also, students would be required to get a blood lead test prior to starting school.
DOE officials said the new schools lead testing cycle begins in 2021-2022, and the state education department will collaborate with environmental protection to improve lead data collection and reporting.
Moreover, Murphy’s plan calls for enhanced enforcement measures against non-compliant school districts, including public notice of districts out of compliance, penalties during annual district review, and possible investigation by the education department’s office of fiscal accountability.
While Gottheimer and Murphy were advocating for a centralized lead database for parents and residents, the Jersey Water Works collaborative, featuring at least 30 stakeholders, issued an in-depth report in early October analyzing the extent of New Jersey’s lead in drinking water problem and listed 19 “interdependent recommendations” under five broad categories for cleaner water.
Many of Murphy’s recommendations—including his call for a $500 million bond issue—were first raised in the exhaustive 48-page Jersey Water Works report developed over 10 months among a disparate group representing environmental, business, academic, regulatory and utility interests.
The report can be accessed here.
Five themes are highlighted to eliminate lead lines statewide, including: 1) coordinate a state-level campaign for a lead-free New Jersey; permanently replace lead service lines in 10 years through a comprehensive legislative package; create a 10-year funding program; enact protective rules and programs to ensure safe drinking water; and ensure quality water in child care facilities and schools.
(Photo courtesy Suez)
