STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3581
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, CLEARE, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to lead service line
identification
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 1114-c to read as follows:
3 § 1114-c. Lead service line identification. 1. For the purposes of
4 this section:
5 (a) "Covered water system" means (i) a public water system that serves
6 at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or
7 regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents; or (ii) a
8 public water system that regularly serves at least twenty-five of the
9 same people, four hours or more per day, for four or more days per week,
10 for twenty-six or more weeks per year.
11 (b) "Service line" means any piping connecting a water main to a
12 building inlet.
13 (c) "Galvanized service line" means iron or steel piping that has been
14 dipped in zinc to prevent corrosion and rusting.
15 (d) "Gooseneck, pigtail, or connector" means a short section of
16 piping, typically not exceeding two feet, which can be bent and used for
17 connections between rigid service piping, typically connecting the
18 service line to the water main.
19 (e) "Lead service line" means a service line made of lead or where a
20 portion of the service line is made of lead. A gooseneck, pigtail, or
21 connector made of lead shall be considered a lead service line, regard-
22 less of length and regardless of the material of the service line to
23 which such gooseneck, pigtail, or connector is attached. A galvanized
24 service line shall be considered a lead service line if it is currently
25 or ever was downstream of a lead service line or is currently downstream
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04768-01-5
S. 3581 2
1 in the direction of flow of a lead status unknown service line. If the
2 covered water system is unable to demonstrate that the galvanized
3 service line was never downstream of a lead service line, the galvanized
4 service line shall be considered a lead service line.
5 (f) "Customer" means an owner of real property served by the covered
6 public water system.
7 (g) "Property" means real property served by the covered public water
8 system.
9 (h) "Non-owner adult occupant" means a person, age eighteen or older,
10 other than the customer that is occupying, with the consent of the
11 customer, real property served by the covered water system, including
12 but not limited to tenants and occupants as defined in section two
13 hundred thirty-five-f of the real property law.
14 (i) "Locally adopted code" means any local law, local ordinance, or
15 covered water system rule or regulation.
16 2. When consent and access to a property cannot be readily obtained by
17 a covered water system for the purpose of conducting a free service line
18 inspection in order to determine the presence of a lead service line,
19 the covered water system shall give notice to the customer of such prop-
20 erty requesting consent and access. Any request to a customer shall
21 include a notification that failure to respond within thirty days shall
22 result in a non-owner adult occupant being authorized to consent to such
23 request. All customers must respond within thirty days to such a request
24 by a covered water system.
25 3. If a customer fails to respond within thirty days to such a
26 request, a covered water system may notify any non-owner adult occupant
27 of such outstanding request and accept the consent and access provided
28 by any non-owner adult occupant of the property in order to conduct a
29 free service line inspection.
30 4. If the consent and access of a customer or non-owner adult occupant
31 of a property is refused or cannot be readily obtained within thirty
32 days after notice has been given, the covered water system may take
33 actions consistent with its locally adopted code to secure such consent
34 and access.
35 5. Free service line inspections must occur within sixty days after a
36 customer or non-owner adult occupant has consented to an inspection
37 request by a covered water system.
38 6. This section shall not modify any existing liabilities or obli-
39 gations for any party in connection to conducting a service line
40 inspection, provided however that a non-owner adult occupant shall not
41 be liable for any actions resulting from consenting to and providing
42 access to conduct a service line inspection as authorized under this
43 section.
44 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
