High Praise for New Jersey’s Commitment to Eradicating Lead Service Lines in our Drinking Water

Statement from Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director, Clean Water Action

TODAY – Clean Water Action joins the Governor and others in Bloomfield (NJ) for the signing of a suite of lead poisoning prevention bills. A5342 will require drinking water utilities to complete lead service line (LSL) inventories and full replacement within ten years – faster than current federal policy. The other bills will enhance public disclosure regarding the presence of lead in homes to both renters and at the point of sale.

We know swift full LSL replacement is possible as Clean Water Action worked with the City of Newark to ensure the replacement of all 18,000+ LSL lines in less than 36 months. It took a combination of political determination, policy changes, funds and newly trained workforce to expand the pool needed to do to complete the job. We can replicate this model throughout the Garden State with the help of these new laws.

Clean Water Action is committed to working with the Governor, NJ legislature, congressional delegation and fellow advocates to ensure that the funding is in place to make this happen. At the national level, we need to ensure that the landmark infrastructure funding package retains the $45 billion slated to replace all LSL across the nation.  

The faster we get these lead lines out of the ground the better it will be especially for our most vulnerable, pregnant women and infants on formula. While lead in paint is a huge problem for children on the move, 60% of an infant’s lead intake is from lead in water if they are on formula.  

Thank you, Governor Murphy for taking this huge step forward when it comes to lead poisoning prevention. We hope these new laws will serve as a model for other states to follow.

Suite of bills include:

A-5343 – Lead Service Line Inventory and Replacement schedule and mandate
S-829   – Adds questions on presence of LSLs or indoor lead plumbing to the standard real estate disclosure form during home sales.
S-830   – Free lead in water testing upon request during an action level exceedance or following a partial LSL replacement.
S-1147 – Lead paint disclosure that includes renters

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 Since the organization’s founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table. www.cleanwater.org/nj