NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8523
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to information on
service lines to be reported by public water systems
PURPOSE:
To provide consistency between state and federal requirements for
covered public waters systems to submit service line inventories and
service line summaries to the Department of Health and Environmental
Protection Agency.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill amends Chapter 730 of the Laws of 2023 by amending the defi-
nition of "covered public water system" to mean water systems serving at
least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents, rather
than five. These amendments also clarify that covered public water
systems would be required to follow federal regulations under the United
States Environmental Protection Agency. These changes would enable the
Department of Health to have one hundred twenty days to publish service
line inventories and inventory summary forms and be required to publish
an interactive map of service line inventories by no later than October
16th, 2026. Additionally, technical edits are included to allow covered
public water systems to accurately identify service line materials using
methods not mentioned in the bill, include federal citations, and exempt
public water systems service more than two million people from the map-
posting requirement, instead including a link to existing maps on the
department's website.
JUSTIFICATION:
Lead service, lines pose one of the greatest threats to drinking water
in New York. These water pipes, which connect water mains to the inter-
nal plumbing in homes and other buildings, can expose New Yorkers to a
dangerous neurotoxin when they turn on-the tap. There is no safe level
of lead in drinking water. Infants and fetuses are especially at risk.
However, few water utilities across the state have shared publicly how
many lead service lines are present in their distribution system and
where those lead service lines are located. Policymakers need this
information to understand the full scale and extent of the lead service
line problem. Accessing and visualizing this data will also ensure that
existing state and incoming federal funds earmarked for getting lead
service lines out of the ground are spent efficiently and equitably. New
York cannot fix what it cannot measure. This bill codifies requirements
by the US Environmental Protection Agency and guidance from the NYS
Department of Health for each water utility to develop a comprehensive
inventory of all of the service lines in its system by October 2024, and
to regularly update those inventories with new information. It also
requires the NYS Department of Health to make those inventories avail-
able on the department's website and to create interactive maps allowing
New Yorkers to easily learn their risk of lead exposure. These amend-
ments better align the State's requirements for covered public water
systems to submit a service line inventory and inventory summary form
with these federal requirements, including changing the minimum amount
of service connections used by year-round residents from five to fifteen
to qualify under the bill. The changes also represent several technical
amendments related to federal citations as well as the requirements for
posting interactive maps of water systems serving two million people or
more, which already have the required maps developed. Due to the neces-
sity of reviewing the service line inventories and inventory summary
forms, the Department of Health will now post both on their website
within 120 days of receipt. This bill will enable New Yorkers to know
what materials their water lines are comprised of and will allow the
State to better address unsafe materials aligned with federal require-
ments.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
None noted.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the public health law relating to
enacting the lead pipe right to know act, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 5512 and A. 6115, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8523
IN ASSEMBLY
January 5, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to information on
service lines to be reported by public water systems
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1114-b of the public health law, as added by a
2 chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the public health law relating to
3 enacting the lead pipe right to know act, as proposed in legislative
4 bills numbers S. 5512 and A. 6115, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 1114-b. Service line inventories and mapping. 1. Definitions. For
6 the purposes of this section:
7 (a) "Service line" means any piping connecting a water main to a
8 building inlet.
9 (b) "Gooseneck, pigtail, or connector" means a short section of
10 piping, typically not exceeding two feet, which can be bent and used for
11 connections between rigid portions of a service line, as defined in 40
12 CFR 141.2.
13 (c) "Galvanized service line" means iron or steel piping that has been
14 dipped in zinc to prevent corrosion and rusting.
15 (d) "Covered public water system" means (i) a public water system that
16 serves at least [five] fifteen service connections used by year-round
17 residents or regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents;
18 or (ii) a public water system that regularly serves at least twenty-five
19 of the same people, four hours or more per day, for four or more days
20 per week, for twenty-six or more weeks per year.
21 2. Each covered public water system shall submit a service line inven-
22 tory, in a format to be developed by the department, that identifies the
23 location, material composition, and other details of all service lines
24 connected to its distribution system. Each covered public water system
25 shall also submit an inventory summary form, in a format to be developed
26 by the department, summarizing the data identified in the service line
27 inventory. [The] Notwithstanding subdivisions three and four of this
28 section, the development of service line inventories and inventory
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08102-03-4
A. 8523 2
1 summary forms shall comply with requirements promulgated by the United
2 States environmental protection agency [as well as comply with the
3 provisions of this section].
4 3. Each service line [connected to a covered public water system's
5 distribution system] shall be listed in service line inventories. Each
6 covered public water system shall include for each service line the
7 information listed in this subdivision. [For some categories, the] The
8 covered public water system may mark "unknown" where documented evidence
9 is not currently available:
10 (a) street address;
11 (b) town;
12 (c) zip code;
13 (d) if known, whether a gooseneck, pigtail, or connector made of lead
14 is present;
15 (e) if known, the material composition of both the public portion and
16 customer portion of the service line;
17 (f) if known, whether the public portion or customer portion of the
18 service line was ever made of lead;
19 (g) the verification method used to determine the material composition
20 of both the public portion and customer portion of the service line;
21 (h) if known, the installation or replacement date of both the public
22 portion and customer portion of the service line;
23 (i) if known, the diameter of both the public portion and customer
24 portion of the service line;
25 (j) if known, whether lead solder is present;
26 (k) if known, the building type; and
27 (l) if known, whether a point of use or point of entry treatment
28 system is present.
29 4. Inventory summary forms shall include, but not be limited to, the
30 following information about each covered water system:
31 (a) water system name and identification number;
32 (b) contact information for the owner or licensed operator of record
33 completing the form;
34 (c) the total number of service lines in the distribution system;
35 (d) the total number of lead service lines, including the total number
36 of lead public service line portions and the total number of lead
37 customer service line portions;
38 (e) the total number of galvanized service lines requiring replacement
39 as defined in 40 CFR 141.84, including the total number of galvanized
40 public service line portions requiring replacement and the total number
41 of galvanized customer service line portions requiring replacement;
42 (f) the total number of non-lead service lines, including the total
43 number of non-lead public service line portions and the total number of
44 non-lead customer service line portions;
45 (g) the total number of service lines of unknown material, including
46 the total number of unknown public service line portions and the total
47 number of unknown customer service line portions;
48 (h) the total number of public service line portions identified by
49 historical records, field inspections, customer identification with
50 photo or other verification, excavation, sequential sampling, [and]
51 statistical analysis/predictive modeling, or other method determined by
52 the covered public water system to accurately identify service line
53 materials;
54 (i) the total number of customer service portions identified by
55 historical records, field inspections, customer identification with
56 photo or other verification, excavation, sequential sampling, and
A. 8523 3
1 statistical analysis/predictive modeling, or other method determined by
2 the covered public water system to accurately identify service line
3 materials;
4 (j) a description of how the service line inventory will be accessible
5 to the public; and
6 (k) a certification verifying the accuracy of the information.
7 5. Each covered public water system shall electronically submit to the
8 department an initial service line inventory and an initial inventory
9 summary form no later than October sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four.
10 The department may prescribe data management means and methods for elec-
11 tronic submissions by covered public water systems for uniformity
12 purposes.
13 6. Covered public water systems whose inventories contain any service
14 lines classified as lead, galvanized requiring replacement as defined in
15 40 CFR 141.84, or unknown shall electronically submit updated service
16 line inventories and inventory summary forms to the department at least
17 annually. Updated service line inventories and inventory summary forms
18 shall reflect information gathered during any service line replacements
19 or service line material inspections that may have been conducted.
20 Updated inventory summary forms shall additionally include:
21 (a) a description detailing the steps being taken to determine the
22 material composition of unknown service lines;
23 (b) the total number of service lines classified as lead, galvanized
24 requiring replacement, or unknown that were replaced over the course of
25 the previous year; and
26 (c) the total number of service lines classified as unknown that were
27 determined to be lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or other mate-
28 rial over the course of the previous year.
29 7. Each covered public water system which operates its own website
30 shall make its most recent service line inventory and inventory summary
31 form available to the public on its website.
32 8. No later than [thirty] one hundred twenty days after receiving
33 initial and updated service line inventories and inventory summary
34 forms, the department shall make such inventories and inventory summary
35 forms available to the public [on] through the department's website.
36 Each local health department shall include a link on its website to the
37 website [operated] maintained by the department for hosting service line
38 inventories and inventory summary forms.
39 9. No later than [three hundred sixty days after] October sixteenth,
40 two thousand [twenty-four] twenty-six, the department shall make the
41 information from the service line inventories of covered public water
42 systems serving more than ten thousand people and fewer than two million
43 people available to the public on the department's website in the form
44 of an interactive map or maps. Such interactive map or maps shall
45 include, for each service line:
46 (a) material classification, including the material classification of
47 both the public and customer portions of a service line;
48 (b) street address; and
49 (c) the verification method for the service line classification.
50 10. The department's interactive map or maps shall be searchable by
51 address, and color-coded where applicable to designate material classi-
52 fication. The department's interactive map or maps shall be updated at
53 least annually, in conjunction with the submission of updated service
54 line inventories by covered public water systems. The department may
55 choose not to create an interactive map when a covered public water
56 system certifies that it maintains and updates its own interactive map,
A. 8523 4
1 and shall include a link to such interactive map on the department's
2 website.
3 11. The department shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems
4 necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this section.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
6 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the public health law
7 relating to enacting the lead pipe right to know act, as proposed in
8 legislative bills numbers S. 5512 and A. 6115, takes effect.
