The New Jersey Department of Education will strengthen its “Safe Drinking Water” regulations to require schools to perform lead testing every 3 years, rather than every 6 years, to ensure timely detection of elevated lead levels.
*The Murphy administration will implement a three-pronged approach to enhance key lead testing and remediation regulations and policies. Here is what’s happening:
- These regulations will also include enhanced enforcement measures against non-compliant school districts – such as public reporting of schools that are out of compliance – and additional follow-up investigation by the DOE’s Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance.
- To enhance transparency of this new testing protocol, the New Jersey Department of Education will also create and host a centralized, state-managed database complete with lead testing results and information from all school districts.
- Additionally, the Murphy administration will prioritize remediation projects for districts using $100 million in voter-approved bond funding for school water infrastructure improvement projects.
To assist districts that decide to test for lead in the water in their school buildings, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a guidance document Lead in Drinking Water: Guidance for Schools and Child Care Facilities Served by Public Water. It includes a comprehensive set of guidelines for training, testing and telling: 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools: Revised Technical Guidance.
To access the document click the following link: http://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/pdf/lead-copper-guiidance.pdf
*Sources cited:
https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562019/approved/20191007b.shtml
https://patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/gov-murphy-takes-action-150-possible-nj-lead-water-sites-idd
Contact Tim Popp,VP of Consulting, with any questions or concerns regarding lead in water testing at 856-840-8800 x 24 or timp@ttienv.com