HF 395 (LSB 2443YH (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 395

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to lead and copper testing in water supply systems serving child care facilities and schools, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  135.105E  Lead and copper testing in child care facilities and schools.
   1.  For purposes of this section, “water supply system” means the infrastructure used to transmit water from a water utility, well source, or other source of water, whether publicly or privately owned, to an end user.
   2.  a.  Consistent with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. pt. 141, subpt. I, the owner or operator of a water supply system shall collect samples at least annually at no fewer than twenty percent of the child care facilities, as defined in section 237A.1, and no fewer than twenty percent of the school district attendance centers, as defined in section 279.71, that the water supply system serves and such samples shall be tested for the presence of lead and copper. The owner or operator of a water supply system shall ensure that samples are collected from every child care facility and every school district attendance center that the water supply system serves during each five-year period.
   b.  The owner or operator of a water supply system shall report respective results of test samples to the child care facility or school district attendance center that was tested. Upon reporting results, the owner or operator of the water supply system shall provide information on actions that the child care facility or school district attendance center can take to reduce the presence of lead and copper in the drinking water. The owner or operator of the water supply system shall also provide information on methods to communicate results to users of the child care facility or school district attendance center and to parents or guardians of children who attend the child care facility or school district attendance center.
   c.  (1)  On or before August 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, each owner or operator of a water supply system shall submit a report to the department of health and human services and the department of natural resources. The report shall include the results of all tests conducted on child care facilities and school district attendance centers by the water supply system between July 1 of the prior year and June 30 of the reporting year.
   (2)  On or before August 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, each owner or operator of a water supply system shall submit a report to the local board that has jurisdiction over a child care facility or school district attendance center that the owner or operator of a water supply system had tested during the reporting period. The report shall include the results of all tests conducted by the owner or operator of a water supply system at child care facilities and school district attendance centers in the local board’s jurisdiction between July 1 of the prior year and June 30 of the reporting year.
   d.  (1)  An owner or operator of a water supply system shall compile a list of all child care facilities and school district attendance centers in the water supply system’s service area. The owner or operator of a water supply system shall make the list available on the system’s internet site. 
   (2)  The owner or operator of a water supply system shall annually contact each child care facility and school district attendance center in the water supply system’s service area to provide information about the health risks of lead and copper in drinking water, schedule sample collection if required under paragraph “a”, and provide the most recent guidance from the United States environmental protection agency on lead and copper reduction strategies. This subparagraph is repealed July 1, 2028.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to testing for lead and copper in water supply systems serving child care facilities and schools.
   Federal regulations currently require owners and operators of water supply systems to compile a pool of targeted sampling sites in the water supply system’s distribution system that “is sufficiently large to ensure that the water system can collect the number of lead and copper tap samples” as required depending on the size of the water supply system. Federal regulations provide procedures for additional monitoring and mitigation measures.
   The bill requires each owner or operator of a water supply system, as defined in the bill, to collect samples annually from no fewer than 20 percent of the child care facilities and no fewer than 20 percent of the school district attendance centers that the water supply system serves. Such samples shall be tested for the presence of lead and copper. The bill requires the owner or operator of a water supply system to ensure that samples are collected from every child care facility and every school district attendance center that the water supply system serves during each five-year period.
   The bill requires an owner or operator of a water supply system to provide the respective results to the child care facility or school district attendance center that was tested and include information on actions to reduce the presence of lead and copper in the drinking water and methods to communicate results to users. The bill requires each owner or operator of a water supply system to submit an annual report to the department of health and human services, the department of natural resources, and the local boards of health having jurisdiction over a location that was tested during the reporting period. The report shall include test results from July 1 of the preceding year through June 30 of the reporting year.
   The bill requires each owner or operator of a water supply system to compile a list of all child care facilities and school district attendance centers in the water supply system’s service area and make the list available on the system’s internet site. Until July 1, 2028, the owner or operator of a water supply system shall annually contact each child care facility and school district attendance center in the water supply system’s service area to provide information about the health risks of lead and copper in drinking water, schedule sample collection when required by the bill, and provide the most recent guidance from the U.S. environmental protection agency on lead and copper reduction strategies.
   By operation of law, a person who knowingly violates the provisions of the bill is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855.