Provision Expanding Funding for Lead Testing of School Drinking Water Advances

NEWARK — The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works advanced a provision co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) that would would establish a new federal grant program for schools and daycare centers that choose to test for lead. The provision was included in the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act, which provides resources for various water related projects across the country.
“We simply can’t stand idly by and wait for the next school district to experience a lead crisis,” said Sen. Booker, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. “The fact is, lead in our drinking water is not just a Newark or a Flint problem – it’s an epidemic plaguing cities across our nation. This provision takes a critical step towards protecting the health and safety of our children by providing the resources our schools need to test for lead in their water. I stand committed to ensuring that our schools and daycares are the safe learning environments parents expect and children deserve.”
Sen. Booker’s provision, introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) with Sen. Booker as a co-sponsor and included in a Senate Democratic package of water infrastructure investments, would create a $100 million federal grant program for fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to help school and child care centers establish a voluntary lead testing program. This grant program was originally part of a 1988 bill called the Lead Contamination Control Act, but the legislative text outlining the program was struck down by the courts due to a drafting error.
As part of his continued efforts to address lead contamination, earlier this month Booker introduced legislation with Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) requiring states to help schools test for lead if those states receive federal funding for safe water programs. Under the bill, if a level of lead in a school water system exceeds the EPA’s lead action level, the school must notify parents, the EPA administrator, and the state in which they are located.