BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 334
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Date of Hearing: July 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
SB
334 (Leyva) - As Amended July 9, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Pupil health: drinking water.
SUMMARY: Requires drinking water at schoolsites to be tested
for lead. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
work with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
to develop guidelines and best practices to ensure that
lead hazards in drinking water are minimized in the course
of school repair and maintenance and abatement procedures,
and requires consideration of school district data in the
development of the guidelines.
2) Eliminates duplicity with existing law by deleting
requirement, pursuant to the Lead-Safe Schools Protection
Act, that CDPH work with CDE to develop voluntary
guidelines for distribution to request that schools ensure
that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school
repair and maintenance programs and abatement procedures.
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3) Prohibits drinking water that does not meet the United
States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and State of
California's drinking water standards for lead from being
provided at a school facility.
4) Defines "drinking water source" to mean drinking water
fountains and other fixtures that are intended to convey
water for human consumption.
5) Requires CDPH to test drinking water sources at a sample
of schoolsites for lead, and establishes the intent of the
Legislature to prioritize testing of schoolsites that have
high risk factors.
6) Requires the data collected by CDPH to include drinking
water lead testing information, including, but not limited
to, dates of testing, number and type of drinking water
sources tested, and test results, and requires CDPH to
notify the school districts where schools that were tested
are located of the test results.
7) Requires CDPH and CDE to establish a process for
receiving, recording and making the data received from
testing water at schoolsites, and post the data on their
websites.
8) Prohibits CDPH from testing drinking water sources that
are either at a schoolsite constructed after January 1,
1993, or that have been tested by CDPH or a certified
professional hired by a school district and is ascertained
to meet the EPA and state's drinking water standards for
lead.
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9) Requires a school district with drinking water not in
compliance with the EPA or the state standards to contact
CDPH and the local department of public health to identify
the most urgent mitigation needs and develop a protocol or
plan for mitigation.
10) Requires the protocol or plan to be adopted by the
governing board of the school district within six months of
the school district's receipt of the drinking water tests.
11) Requires a school that has lead-contaminated plumbing
components to flush all drinking water sources for a
minimum of 30-seconds at the beginning of each school day,
consistent with the protocols recommended by the EPA, CDPH,
State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), or the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and states a
school is not required to flush drinking water sources that
have been shut off or have been certified free of lead.
12) Deletes existing allowance for a governing board of a
school district to adopt a resolution stating that it is
unable to comply with the requirements and demonstrating
the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal
constraints or health and safety concerns.
13) Requires a school district to comply with the
requirements to provide free, fresh, and clean drinking
water through the use of drinking water access points and
requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh
and clean drinking water throughout the school day.
14) Requires a school district with lead-contaminated water
sources to close access to those drinking water sources
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immediately upon receipt of the test results and requires a
school district to provide alternative drinking water
sources if closure of a contaminated drinking water source
results in noncompliance with state regulatory requirements
for a minimum number of accessible drinking water
fountains.
15) Requires a school district to notify parents, pupils,
teachers, and other school personnel of drinking water
results immediately if the school district is required to
provide alternative drinking water sources, and authorizes
a school district to comply with that requirement by
providing notification of the test results during the next
regularly scheduled public school meeting.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes policy of the state that every human being
has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible
water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary
purposes. (Water Code § 106.3)
2) Requires, pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA) and California SDWA, drinking water to meet
specified standards for contamination (maximum contaminant
levels) as set by the EPA or the Water Board. (Health and
Safety Code (HSC) § 116270, et seq.)
3) Declares childhood lead exposure as the most significant
childhood environmental health problem in the state and
establishes the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
to reduce the incidence of childhood lead exposure in
California. (HSC § 124125, et seq.)
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4) Requires, pursuant to the federal Lead and Copper Rule
(LCR), that all public drinking water systems regularly
test a sample of high-risk homes for lead at the tap. (Code
of Federal Regulations 40 CFR Part 141)
5) Establishes the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act and
requires the State Department of Health Services (DHS) to
conduct a sample survey of schools in this state for the
purpose of developing risk factors to predict lead
contamination in public schools. (Education Code (EC) §
32240-32245)
6) Requires, pursuant to the Lead-Safe Schools Protection
Act, that CDPH work with CDE to develop voluntary
guidelines for distribution to request schools to ensure
that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school
repair and maintenance programs and abatement procedures.
(EC§ 32242 (g))
7) Requires a school district to provide access to free,
fresh drinking water during meal times in the food service
areas of the schools under its jurisdiction, including, but
not necessarily limited to, areas where reimbursable meals
under the National School Lunch Program or the federal
School Breakfast Program are served or consumed.
Authorizes a school district to comply with this
requirement by, among other means, providing cups and
containers of water or soliciting or receiving donated
bottled water. (EC Section 38086)
8) Authorizes DTSC to annually test up to 75 faucet,
fitting and fixture samples for compliance with existing
lead content limits and to post the results of that testing
on its website, and requires DTSC to use test methods,
protocols, and sample preparation procedures that are
adequate to determine total lead concentration in a
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drinking water plumbing fitting or fixture to determine
compliance with the lead content standards. (HSC§
25214.4.3)
9) Requires a school or school system, if it has been
notified by the public water system of
any noncompliance with primary drinking water standards,
including detection of a contaminant found in drinking
water delivered by the public water system for human
consumption that is in excess of a maximum contaminant
level, to notify school employees, students and parents if
the students are minors. (HSC§ 116450 (g))
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "Current law does
not require testing of water at schools in order to ensure that
the water is lead free. Furthermore, no department or agency has
adopted guidelines or regulations to ensure that schools test
the water provided to students or that schools provide clean
drinking water to students throughout the day. Current law only
goes as far as to require schools provide clean and free
drinking water to students during lunch time. However, there is
no testing to ensure that the water sources are actually safe
for consumption. This bill requires the DPH to test a sample of
schools for lead in the drinking water."
The problem with lead: Lead has been listed under California's
Proposition 65 since 1987 as a substance that can cause
reproductive damage and birth defects and has been on the list
of chemicals known to cause cancer since 1992. According to the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, lead has
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multiple toxic effects on the human body. In particular,
decreased intelligence in children and increased blood pressure
in adults are among the more serious non-carcinogenic effects.
Lead is a probable carcinogen in humans.
Even at low levels, lead may cause a range of health effects
including behavioral problems and learning disabilities.
Children six years old and under are most at risk because this
is when the brain is developing. The US EPA estimates that 10 to
20 percent of the total lead exposure for young children comes
from drinking water.
There is no level that has been proven safe, either for children
or for adults. Both U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Health
Services consider any blood lead level more than 10 g/dl
(micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood) to be unsafe for
children and for pregnant or nursing women.
The CDC found that approximately 900,000 U.S. children between 1
and 5 years old have abnormally high levels of lead in their
blood.
Lead in water: The most prevalent sources of lead in drinking
water are from pipes, fixtures, and associated hardware from
which the lead can leach. Historically, lead has been used in
household paints, as a gasoline additive, in soldering
compounds, and in metal piping.
The amount of lead in tap water can depend on several factors,
including the age and material of the pipes, concentration of
lead in water delivered by the public utility (or, for private
domestic wells, the concentration of lead in raw groundwater),
and corrosivity (acidity, temperature, and the concentration of
other mineral components) of the water. More corrosive water can
cause greater leaching from pipes. As pipes age, mineral
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deposits will form a coating on the inside of the pipes protect
against further corrosion. However, older homes with lead pipes
can still have significant concentrations of lead in their tap
water.
Federal lead testing requirements: Under the SDWA, the EPA is
mandated to set enforceable maximum containment levels (MCLs)
for contaminants. While there is no MCL for lead, in 1991, the
EPA adopted the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which established
"action levels" for lead of 15 g/L (0.015 mg/L). The LCR
requires schools that have their own water supply and are
considered non-transient, non-community water systems to test
water at the tap at a sample of their customers served
(students) for lead levels. The sample size is based on the
average daily attendance served by the school. If more than 10
percent of the samples collected are at or above the action
level for lead, it can trigger 'actions' that include public
education, water quality parameter monitoring, corrosion control
treatment, source water monitoring/treatment, public education,
and lead service line replacement. The LCR requires lead samples
to be collected every 6 months. It is unclear precisely how many
schools are covered under the LCR and are currently doing water
testing.
State lead testing requirements: Per state regulation, lead and
copper testing is done on a regular basis. Public water systems
conduct water sampling once every six months for lead. Testing
frequency relaxes if test results consistently show no lead
exceedances. According to the Water Board, most water systems
are on a schedule to test for lead once every three years.
This bill recognizes that school districts receive test results
or notifications from a public water system about non-compliance
with the EPA's drinking water standards for lead. If there is a
lead exceedance in the water source, the school district will be
notified. However, though there are a few schools doing their
own testing for lead as a community water system or
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non-transient non-community water system covered under the LCR,
there is no state requirement that drinking water at all schools
be tested at the tap.
How many schools have lead contaminated water? Current law
required DHS (now CDPH) to conduct a sample survey of schools to
determine the likely extent and distribution of lead exposure to
children from paint on the school, soil in play areas at the
school, drinking water at the tap, and other potential sources.
In 1994, DHS conducted the study, "Lead Hazards in California's
Public Elementary Schools and Child Care Facilities," to
determine the extent of lead contamination in California schools
based on a representative sample of 200 of California's public
elementary schools and daycare facilities.
According to the report, water can be contaminated with lead by
the source water system or by corrosion of lead plumbing or
fixtures. Plumbing installed prior to 1930 is considered most
likely to contain lead. However, lead could also leak from lead
plumbing solder, which was commonly used until banned in 1984.
In its finding, the study stated, "US EPA has set the action
level for lead in drinking water at 15 parts lead per billion
(ppb) parts water. The action recommended by USEPA is to remove
the drinking water outlet from service immediately until the
lead content falls below the action level. Study data indicate
that an estimated 18.1 percent of California schools are likely
to have lead in drinking water at or above the federal action
level. Lead exceeding this level was found at 10.5% of schools
where the sampled outlet had been used within 24 hours of
testing. These findings indicate that in some situations
drinking water from school water outlets could contribute to
children's lead exposure, and demonstrate a need for monitoring
lead from drinking water outlets in schools ? Lead may be
present in drinking water in up to one in five of California
public elementary schools and child care facilities. A testing
and replacement program will identify and eliminate this
potential source of exposure. The USEPA standard of 15 ppb has a
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safety factor built into it."
Why let the water run? In instances in which drinking water is
contaminated, schools may not have resources to replace old
plumbing or fixtures. Such schools may instead rely on Band-Aid
approaches to improve drinking water quality, such as flushing
drinking fountains to decrease lead levels.
The bill requires schools that knowingly have leaded plumbing to
flush all drinking water sources for a minimum of 30-seconds at
the beginning of each school day. According to the California
State Water Resources Control Board, one of the most effective
techniques to reduce lead concentrations in your tap water is to
let the faucet run for 30 seconds to two minutes before using
the water for drinking, cooking, or brushing your teeth. If the
water has sat in your house's plumbing or piping for more than
about six hours, the water run will help to flush out lead that
has leached from household pipes. Usually, the water will change
temperature once the pipes have flushed.
This practice, however, does not address the problem with the
water outlets and is merely a temporary solution, and it also
not an ideal solution given California's present and historic
drought.
Guidance on testing school water: The EPA recommends drinking
fountains and kitchen sinks among the highest priority sites for
testing drinking water at a schoolsite. The EPA provides
guidance for schools and child care facilities for conducting
their own drinking water testing to ascertain whether or not the
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drinking water has lead contamination. The EPA has developed the
3Ts (Training, Testing, and Telling) to help schools implement
simple strategies for managing the health risks of lead in
schools and drinking water. Despite such guidance, in 2006 only
56% of US school districts required drinking water inspections
for lead, and only 22% of districts had model drinking water
quality policies.
If a school has lead-contaminated water fixtures, then what? The
bill requires a school district that has drinking water sources
with drinking water that does not meet the EPA's drinking water
standards for lead to work with CDPH and the local department of
public health to identify the most urgent mitigation needs and
develop a protocol or plan for mitigation.
State regulation requires the provision of at least one drinking
fountain for every 150 people on a school campus (CCR, Title 24,
Part 5 California Plumbing Code). Depending on the average daily
attendance of the schoolsite, there are likely other drinking
water access points that are potentially safe (barring tests
determining otherwise).
The bill requires a school district to provide alternative
drinking water sources if a source, closed due to lead
contamination, results in too few accessible drinking water
fountains.
Frequency of testing: The bill doesn't specify the frequency at
which CDPH shall test schoolsites for lead in the drinking
water. It is not clear if testing a sample of schools is a
one-time requirement, or an annual or ongoing requirement. A
schoolsite may be tested once and have lead levels below the
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action levels for lead in drinking water, but various
conditions, such as deteriorating plumbing, human error during
original testing, etc. may necessitate periodic testing.
Therefore, to remove ambiguity and risk for legal challenges
over interpretation, the bill could clarify the frequency for
sampling.
Arguments in support: According to Children Now, "Consumption of
unclean water in schools is a substantial health risk to
children and increased consumption of water is crucial to
fighting preventable health risks, such as obesity and essential
to students' health and academic performance. Research supported
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proven
that obese children are more likely to be obese in adulthood.
The issue remains prevalent among school children with over 30
percent of California school aged children being overweight or
obese, increasing their risks of developing diabetes and
cardiovascular disease later in life. SB 334 would ensure
routine testing of water provided in schools to students and
staff?Students spend a significant amount of time at school and
ensuring the drinking water is clean can not only help their
overall health and wellbeing it can also help them success in
school."
Arguments in opposition: According to the California Association
of School Business Officials,
"In the absence of any new bond funding for school facilities,
school districts would have to use existing General Fund
resources to finance the modernization of existing water sources
and the construction of new drinking water fountains.
Historically, school bonds have served as the key financing
mechanism for modernization and school facility improvements and
construction projects."
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Suggested amendments: To provide clarity in some of the bill's
requirements, the committee may wish to consider the following
amendments:
1) Delete section 32241.5 and replace with a requirement
that CDE make information available to school districts
about the EPA's technical guidance for reducing lead in
drinking water in schools.
2) In section 32247 (a), specify that the intended
frequency at which CDPH shall test schoolsites for lead in
the drinking water is one-time.
3) In section 32249, remove "30 seconds" as the prescribed
time for flushing and instead reference the EPA and other
agency's guidance. This should prevent the need to revise
statute if/when the guidance changes.
4) In section 49581 (c), add "legal guardians" to the list
of recipients of the notification about drinking water
tests.
Double referral: This bill was double referred to the Assembly
Education Committee, where it passed out on July 1, 2015, on a
6-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
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American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA)
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Black Health Network
California Equity Leaders Network
California Food Policy Advocates
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
Children Now
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Opposition
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California Association of School Business Officials
Analysis Prepared by:Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965