[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 852 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 852
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to address lead contamination in
school drinking water.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 29, 2019
Mrs. Lawrence (for herself, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Demings, Mr.
Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Bustos,
Ms. Norton, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Clay, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of
Pennsylvania, Ms. Moore, Mr. Rush, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Carson of
Indiana, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Garamendi, Ms.
Wexton, Ms. Meng, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Omar, Mr.
Richmond, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. Hill of California,
Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Soto, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Clarke of
New York, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Mr.
Engel, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Raskin, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to address lead contamination in
school drinking water.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Get the Lead Out of Schools Act''.
SEC. 2. SCHOOL TESTING AND NOTIFICATION; GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 1464 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-24) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Testing and Notification Requirements for Public Water
Systems That Serve Schools.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall promulgate a
national primary drinking water regulation for school drinking water
that--
``(1) establishes a lead action level that is not more than
the lead action level established by the Administrator under
section 1412(b);
``(2) requires each public water system to sample for lead
in the drinking water at such schools as the Administrator
determines to have a risk of lead in the drinking water at a
level that meets or exceeds the lead action level established
under paragraph (1); and
``(3) in the case of results of sampling under paragraph
(2) that indicate that the drinking water of a school contains
lead that meets or exceeds the lead action level established
under paragraph (1), requires the public water system that
serves the school to notify the local educational agency that
has jurisdiction over the school, the relevant local health
agencies, the municipality, and the State as soon as
practicable, but not later than 24 hours after the public water
system receives the sampling results.
``(f) School Lead Testing and Remediation Grant Program.--
``(1) Definition of eligible entity.--In this subsection,
the term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a local educational agency (as defined in
subsection (d)(1)); or
``(B) a State agency that administers a statewide
program to test for, or remediate, lead contamination
in drinking water.
``(2) Grants authorized.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall
establish a grant program to make grants available to eligible
entities to test for, and remediate, lead contamination in
school drinking water.
``(3) Use of funds.--
``(A) In general.--An eligible entity that receives
a grant under this subsection may use grant funds--
``(i) to recover the costs incurred by the
eligible entity for testing for lead
contamination in school drinking water
conducted by an entity approved by the
Administrator or the State to conduct the
testing; or
``(ii) to replace lead pipes, pipe
fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures of
any school with drinking water that contains a
level of lead that meets or exceeds the action
level established by the Administrator under
subsection (e)(1) with lead free (as defined in
section 1417) pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing
fittings, and fixtures.
``(B) Limitation.--Not more than 5 percent of grant
funds accepted under this subsection shall be used to
pay the administrative costs of testing for, or
remediation of, lead contamination.
``(4) Guidance; public availability.--As a condition of
receiving a grant under this subsection, an eligible entity
shall--
``(A) expend grant funds in accordance with--
``(i) the guidance of the Environmental
Protection Agency entitled `3Ts for Reducing
Lead in Drinking Water in Schools: Revised
Technical Guidance' and dated October 2006 (or
any successor guidance); or
``(ii) applicable State regulations or
guidance regarding the reduction of lead in
drinking water in schools that is not less
stringent than the guidance referred to in
clause (i), as determined by the Administrator;
``(B) make publicly available, including, to the
maximum extent practicable, on the Internet website of
the eligible entity, a copy of the results of any
testing for lead contamination in school drinking water
that is carried out with funds under this subsection;
and
``(C) notify parent, teacher, and employee
organizations of the availability of the results
described in subparagraph (B).''.
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