STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7878
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 11, 2025
___________
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 enacting the lead
pipe replacement act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "lead pipe replacement act".
3 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 1114-c
4 to read as follows:
5 § 1114-c. Lead service line replacement. 1. Definitions. For the
6 purposes of this section:
7 (a) "Covered water system" means (i) a public water system that serves
8 at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or
9 regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents; or (ii) a
10 public water system that regularly serves at least twenty-five of the
11 same people, four hours or more per day, for four or more days per week,
12 for twenty-six or more weeks per year.
13 (b) "Service line" means any piping connecting a water main to a
14 building inlet.
15 (c) "Galvanized service line" means a service line made of iron or
16 steel that has been dipped in zinc to prevent corrosion and rusting.
17 (d) "Galvanized-requiring-replacement service line" means a galvanized
18 service line that currently is or ever was downstream of a lead service
19 line; or is currently downstream of a lead status unknown service line.
20 For this definition, downstream means in the direction of flow through
21 the service line. If the covered water system is unable to demonstrate
22 that the galvanized service line was never downstream of a lead service
23 line, it is a galvanized-requiring-replacement service line.
24 (e) "Connector" means a short segment of piping not exceeding three
25 feet that can be bent and is used for connections between service
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10763-02-5
A. 7878 2
1 piping, typically connecting the service line to the main. A connector
2 may also be referred to as a gooseneck or pigtail.
3 (f) "Lead connector" means a connector made of lead.
4 (g) "Lead service line" means a service line made of lead or where a
5 portion of the service line is made of lead. For the purposes of this
6 section, a lead-lined galvanized service line, a galvanized-requiring-
7 replacement service line, and a lead connector shall be considered to be
8 lead service lines.
9 (h) "Lead status unknown service line" means a service line whose pipe
10 material has not been demonstrated to be a lead service line, galvan-
11 ized-requiring-replacement service line, or a non-lead service line.
12 (i) "Partial lead service line replacement" means replacement of any
13 portion of a lead service line that leaves in service any length of a
14 lead service line upon completion of the work.
15 (j) "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as defined
16 in section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation law.
17 (k) "Elevated lead levels" shall have the same meaning as defined in
18 section thirteen hundred seventy of this chapter.
19 (l) "Customer" means an owner of real property served by the covered
20 water system.
21 (m) "Property" means real property served by a covered water system.
22 (n) "Occupant" means a person, age eighteen or older, other than the
23 customer, that is occupying, with the consent of the customer, real
24 property served by the covered water system, including but not limited
25 to tenants and occupants as defined in section two hundred thirty-five-f
26 of the real property law.
27 (o) "Environmental protection agency" means the United States environ-
28 mental protection agency.
29 (p) "Locally adopted code" means any local law, local ordinance, or
30 covered water system rule or regulation.
31 2. Lead service line replacement requirements. (a) A covered water
32 system shall replace all lead service lines in its distribution system,
33 regardless of the ownership status of such lead service lines or the
34 type of property on which they are located, in accordance with the
35 procedures identified in this section, no later than November first, two
36 thousand thirty-seven.
37 (b) To the extent not provided elsewhere, and notwithstanding any law,
38 regulation, or water tariff agreement to the contrary, covered water
39 systems are hereby provided legal access to all service lines and
40 connectors in their distribution systems for the purpose of identifying
41 and replacing lead service lines.
42 (c) A covered water system shall establish a lead service line
43 replacement program. Such program shall offer to replace all portions of
44 a lead service line at no direct charge to any customer with a lead
45 service line, and shall cover the costs of planning, construction,
46 reconstruction, restoration, customer engagement, and any other activ-
47 ities related to lead service line replacement. For the purposes of
48 this section, a direct charge shall not include revenues raised through
49 water rate increases.
50 (d) Upon being offered a lead service line replacement at no direct
51 charge by the covered water system, any customer served by a lead
52 service line owned by the customer in whole or in part shall either:
53 (i) Facilitate the covered water system's replacement of all portions
54 of the lead service line at no direct charge, including by providing
55 access to the customer's property and providing any information neces-
56 sary for the replacement requested by the covered water system; or
A. 7878 3
1 (ii) Opt-out of the covered water system's lead service line replace-
2 ment program by replacing the customer-owned portion of the lead service
3 line through the customer's own agents or contractors and at the custom-
4 er's own expense. If the customer elects to replace the customer-owned
5 portion of the lead service line under this subparagraph, the replace-
6 ment must be completed not later than forty-five days after the covered
7 water system first communicates to the customer the availability of the
8 lead service line replacement program. The replacement shall be
9 inspected by a licensed plumber to certify that the replacement
10 occurred, with such certification provided to the covered water system.
11 If a customer notifies the covered water system that they intend to
12 replace or have replaced the customer-owned portion of the lead service
13 line, the covered water system must replace, at no charge to the custom-
14 er, the portion of the lead service line owned by the covered water
15 system at the same time as, or within forty-five days of, the customer-
16 initiated replacement. If the covered water system cannot replace their
17 portion of the lead service line within forty-five days due to the nega-
18 tive impact such a replacement would have on other planned or ongoing
19 lead service line replacement projects, the covered water system shall
20 notify the department of this fact and shall replace their portion of
21 the lead service line within one hundred eighty days of the date that
22 the customer completed the replacement of the customer-owned portion of
23 the lead service line.
24 (e) If the customer fails to facilitate the covered water system's
25 lead service line replacement at no direct charge and does not replace
26 the customer-owned portion of the lead service line through the custom-
27 er's own agents or contractors and at the customer's own expense within
28 the forty-five day period described in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph
29 (d) of this subdivision, or fails to communicate with or is nonrespon-
30 sive to the covered water system's attempted communications regarding
31 the lead service line replacement program offered:
32 (i) The covered water system shall seek access to the property from
33 any non-customer occupant in order to replace all portions of the lead
34 service line. A covered water system acting in good faith that enters a
35 customer's property and conducts a lead service line replacement under
36 this subparagraph shall be held harmless by and is not liable to the
37 customer with respect to the entry or the replacement. An occupant
38 acting in good faith that provides such access to the property shall
39 also be held harmless by and is also not liable to the customer with
40 respect to the entry or the replacement; or
41 (ii) If there is no non-customer occupant of the property or the occu-
42 pant does not grant access, the covered water system shall take action
43 consistent with its locally adopted code to secure access to the proper-
44 ty to replace all portions of a lead service line. A covered water
45 system acting in good faith that enters a customer's property and
46 conducts a replacement under this subparagraph shall be held harmless by
47 and is not liable to the customer with respect to the entry or the
48 replacement.
49 (f) A covered public water system shall when feasible prioritize lead
50 service line replacements:
51 (i) in disadvantaged communities; and
52 (ii) at daycares, schools, and homes with children with elevated blood
53 lead levels, when data on such properties is available.
54 (g) The relevant offices, agencies, and departments of the state of
55 New York, the city of New York, and all other municipalities, including
56 but not limited to transportation, public works, and general services,
A. 7878 4
1 shall, to the fullest extent possible, work with covered water systems
2 to plan lead service line replacements in coordination with street
3 repavings, planned water infrastructure improvements, or other municipal
4 infrastructure projects.
5 (h) Each lead service line replaced after the effective date of this
6 section shall be replaced with a copper service line. Notwithstanding
7 the foregoing, the department may authorize a covered water system to
8 use an alternative replacement material due to corrosive soil conditions
9 which would cause copper pipe sleeving or wrapping to be inadequate to
10 prevent corrosion.
11 (i) A covered water system shall not conduct a partial lead service
12 line replacement unless such a replacement is conducted as part of an
13 emergency repair.
14 (j) When requested by a customer with a lead service line, a covered
15 water system shall provide to the customer, at no charge, a pitcher or
16 point of use filter certified by an American National Standards Insti-
17 tute accredited certifier to reduce lead, at least six months' worth of
18 replacement cartridges, and instructions for use. Whenever the environ-
19 mental protection agency requires a covered water system to provide
20 pitcher or point of use filters and replacement cartridges to customers,
21 a covered water system shall provide such filters and cartridges to
22 customers at no charge.
23 3. Lead service line replacement plan. The department shall make the
24 most recent version of all lead service line replacement plans available
25 to the public on the department's website within ninety days of receiv-
26 ing such plans. Each covered water system shall make its most recent
27 lead service line replacement plan available to the public on its
28 website, if such a website exists.
29 4. Reporting requirements. (a) In addition to the information that the
30 environmental protection agency requires covered water systems to annu-
31 ally report to the department, covered water systems shall also annually
32 report:
33 (i) the number of lead service lines replaced in disadvantaged commu-
34 nities; at daycares, schools, and homes with children with elevated
35 blood lead levels, when known; and in coordination with street
36 repavings, planned water infrastructure improvements, or other municipal
37 infrastructure projects; and
38 (ii) how the covered water system has disposed of each lead service
39 line it has replaced, where each lead service line was removed from, and
40 whether and where any lead service lines were left in the ground.
41 5. Funding, regulations and guidance. (a) A covered water system may
42 use state and federal grants and loans, proceeds from municipal bonds,
43 water rate revenue, and other types of funding to inspect and replace
44 lead service lines, regardless of the ownership status of the lead
45 service line or the type of property on which it is located.
46 (b) The department is authorized to make funding available through the
47 clean water infrastructure act, drinking water state revolving fund, and
48 other funding sources for the purpose of implementing the provisions of
49 this section and any regulations promulgated thereto.
50 (c) The department shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems
51 necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this section.
52 (d) The department shall provide guidance to covered water systems and
53 local health departments on implementing the provisions of this section.
54 § 3. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act
55 shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid
56 and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the judgment shall
A. 7878 5
1 not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be
2 confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or
3 part of this act directly involved in the controversy in which the judg-
4 ment shall have been rendered.
5 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
