2022 -- S 2765 | |
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LC004970 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT | |
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Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Goodwin, Gallo, Miller, and Euer | |
Date Introduced: March 24, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 23-24.6-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-24.6 entitled "Lead |
2 | Poisoning Prevention Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 23-24.6-4. Definitions. |
4 | For the purposes of this chapter: |
5 | (1) "Childhood lead poisoning" means a confirmed venous blood lead level, measured in |
6 | micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood, established by rule by the Rhode Island department |
7 | of health based on the best available information about the effects of elevated blood lead levels. |
8 | (2) "Comprehensive environmental lead inspection" means the inspection of any structure |
9 | or premises for the presence of lead in various media and includes sampling as may be necessary |
10 | or expedient in order to determine compliance in the structure or premises with standards for being |
11 | lead safe or lead free. |
12 | (3) "Department" means the state department of health. |
13 | (4) "Director" means the director of health. |
14 | (5) "Dwelling" means any enclosed space which is wholly or partly used or intended to be |
15 | used for living or sleeping by human occupants. |
16 | (6) "Dwelling unit" means any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and |
17 | forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, |
18 | sleeping, cooking, and eating. |
19 | (7) "Environment intervention blood lead level" means a confirmed concentration, in a |
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1 | person under six (6) years of age, of lead in whole blood of greater than or equal to twenty (20) |
2 | micrograms per deciliter for a single test or for fifteen (15) to nineteen (19) micrograms per deciliter |
3 | for two (2) tests taken at least three (3) months apart or as defined by the department consistent |
4 | with regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. |
5 | (8) "Environmental lead hazard reduction" means activities undertaken by or on behalf of |
6 | a property owner in order to achieve lead free or lead safe status pursuant to the requirements of |
7 | this chapter. |
8 | (9) "Inspection" means the inspection, other than a comprehensive environmental lead |
9 | inspection, of any structure or premises undertaken to determine compliance with the requirements |
10 | of this chapter or with orders issued pursuant to this chapter. |
11 | (10) "Insurer" means every medical service corporation, hospital service corporation, |
12 | health maintenance organization, or other insurance company offering and/or insuring health |
13 | services; the term includes any entity defined as an insurer under § 42-62-4. |
14 | (11) "Lead contractor" means any person or entity engaged in lead hazard reduction as a |
15 | business and includes consultants who design, perform, oversee, or evaluate lead hazard reduction |
16 | projects undertaken pursuant to the requirements of this chapter. |
17 | (12) "Lead exposure hazard" means a condition that presents a clear and significant health |
18 | risk to occupants of the dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises, particularly where there are children |
19 | under the age of six (6) years. |
20 | (13) "Lead free" means that a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises either contains no lead |
21 | or contains lead in amounts less than the maximum acceptable environmental lead levels |
22 | established by department of health regulations. |
23 | (14) "Lead hazard reduction" means any action or actions designed to reduce exposure to |
24 | toxic levels of lead which impose an unacceptable risk of exposure in any dwelling or dwelling |
25 | unit, where a child under the age of six (6) years, with environmental intervention blood lead level |
26 | or greater resides, or on any premises and may include, but is not limited to: repair, enclosure, |
27 | encapsulation, or removal of lead based paint and/or lead contaminated dust, soil or drinking water; |
28 | relocation of occupants; and cleanup measures or ongoing maintenance measures, which may |
29 | include activities and/or measures that do not present an undue risk to children under age six (6) |
30 | and can be performed by, or on behalf of, the property owner, without the person performing such |
31 | activities being licensed or certified. |
32 | (15) "Lead safe" means that a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises has undergone sufficient |
33 | lead hazard reduction to ensure that no significant environmental lead hazard is present and |
34 | includes but is not limited to covering and encapsulation. |
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1 | (16) "Lead service lines" means any part of a public or private service line that is made of, |
2 | lined with, or contains, materials consisting of lead. Service lines with galvanized steel shall be |
3 | considered lead service lines. |
4 | (16)(17) "Occupant" means any person who legally resides in, or regularly uses, a dwelling, |
5 | dwelling unit, or structure; provided, however, that a guest of any age shall not be considered an |
6 | occupant for the purposes of this chapter. |
7 | (17)(18) "Owner" means any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others: |
8 | (i) Shall have legal title to any dwelling or dwelling unit with or without accompanying |
9 | actual possession of it, or |
10 | (ii) Shall have charge, care, or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit as owner or agent |
11 | of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any |
12 | person representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter |
13 | and with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter to the same extent as if that person |
14 | were the owner. An agent of the owner excludes real estate and property management functions |
15 | where the agent is only responsible for the property management and does not have authority to |
16 | fund capital and/or major property rehabilitation on behalf of the owner. |
17 | (iii) For purposes of publicly owned property only, the owner shall be defined to be the |
18 | chief executive officer of the municipal or state agency which owns, leases, or controls the use of |
19 | the property. |
20 | (18)(19) "Person" means any individual, firm, corporation, association, or partnership and |
21 | includes municipal and state agencies. |
22 | (19)(20) "Premises" means a platted lot or part thereof or unplatted lot or parcel of land, or |
23 | plot of land, occupied by a dwelling or structure and includes any building, accessory structure, or |
24 | other structure thereon which is or will be frequently used by children under the age of six (6) years. |
25 | (21)"Private service line" or "private side" means the portion of the service line including |
26 | appurtenances and connections thereto that runs from the curb shutoff valve into the property or |
27 | building. |
28 | (20)(22) "Program" means the comprehensive environmental lead program established by |
29 | this chapter. |
30 | (23) "Public service line" or "public side" means the portion of the service line including |
31 | appurtenances and connections thereto that runs from the water main in the street to the curb shutoff |
32 | valve. |
33 | (21)(24) "State inspector" means the director, his or her designee, or any inspector |
34 | employed by the department of health who is authorized by the director to conduct comprehensive |
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1 | environmental lead inspections and/or other inspections for the department. |
2 | SECTION 2. Chapter 23-24.6 of the General Laws entitled "Lead Poisoning Prevention |
3 | Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
4 | 23-24.6-28. Lead water supply replacement. |
5 | (a) Water suppliers, as defined in § 39-15.1-2, that provide safe and potable drinking water |
6 | to the public shall replace all public side lead service lines connected to residential and non- |
7 | residential facilities that provide water for human consumption. |
8 | (b) No later than twelve (12) months after the enactment of this section, water suppliers |
9 | shall develop a service line inventory in order to determine the existence or absence of lead within |
10 | each water connection in its service area. This inventory shall include information about the service |
11 | line locations and composition of service lines at each location. The water supplier shall provide a |
12 | list of all service lines and classify which have lead, which do not contain lead and which are of |
13 | unknown composition. This information shall be posted on the department’s website and on the |
14 | water supplier’s website. Water suppliers without a website shall make the most recent service line |
15 | inventory available in a publicly accessible location in each community they serve. |
16 | (c) Water suppliers may utilize the following to develop a service line inventory: |
17 | (1) Visual inspection during planned maintenance, meter replacement, and main |
18 | replacement projects; |
19 | (2) Solicitation and receipt of comments, complaints and other input from customers in the |
20 | service area; |
21 | (3) Historical building records and other available data from the American Water Works |
22 | Association or other industry research groups; and/or, |
23 | (4) Any other procedures and resources the water supplier deems appropriate for |
24 | identifying lead service lines. |
25 | (d) Within five (5) days of identifying a lead service line, the water supplier shall provide |
26 | written notice to the property owner, the tenants of the building and the director of the presence of |
27 | lead service lines. The notice shall include information describing the sources of lead in drinking |
28 | water, description of the health effects of lead exposure and steps customers can take to reduce |
29 | their exposure to lead in drinking water. This notice shall include lead service line replacement |
30 | instructions and contact information to schedule a service line inspection and replacement. |
31 | (e) Water suppliers without an established lead pipe replacement program shall coordinate |
32 | with the department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank to develop a replacement program. |
33 | The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall partner with water suppliers to |
34 | implement lead replacement programs including assisting with financial needs that exist. |
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1 | (f) The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall assist water suppliers |
2 | with financing, grants, loans, drinking water funding opportunities or other monetary assistance to |
3 | ensure that public service lines containing lead are replaced in an expeditious manner; |
4 | (g) For properties with a public service line containing lead, water suppliers shall inspect, |
5 | at no cost to the property owner, the private side service lines to determine whether lead or |
6 | galvanized steel is present. If lead is detected in the private service line: |
7 | (1) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall provide the property owner with no-cost |
8 | financial options to replace the private side line; |
9 | (2) The water supplier shall replace the entire public side service line, if lead is present in |
10 | the public side; |
11 | (3) In the event a property owner refuses to allow the inspection or replacement of private |
12 | side service lines, the water supplier shall file notice of all attempts to inspect or replace the private |
13 | side service lines and the property owner’s refusal to allow inspection or replacement services with |
14 | the department. The notice shall state at a minimum: the date and time of each attempt; the name |
15 | of the person who refused each attempt; and the name and signature of the person who made each |
16 | attempt. The address where each refusal took place shall be published on the appropriate |
17 | department website to ensure occupants of the building have notice of the potential lead in the |
18 | service line. |
19 | (4) If the property is a rental property, the owner and the department shall inform the |
20 | tenants of the presence of lead in accordance with § 23-24.6-15(b). If the owner fails to provide |
21 | tenants with notification of lead in service lines to the building the owner shall be subject to civil |
22 | penalty in accordance with § 23-24.6-27. |
23 | (h) When a property owner transfers the ownership of property they shall disclose the |
24 | presence of lead service lines. Pursuant to § 5-20.8-11, every contract for the transfer or purchase |
25 | and sale of real estate that is or may be served by a service line containing lead shall provide that |
26 | potential purchasers be permitted a ten (10) day period, unless the parties mutually agree upon a |
27 | different period of time, to conduct a risk assessment or an inspection of the property's water service |
28 | lines for the presence of lead hazards before becoming obligated under the contract to transfer or |
29 | purchase. |
30 | (i) Any private side service line found to have lead, which provides water to a building |
31 | subject to sale or transfer, shall be removed and replaced within twelve (12) months of the date of |
32 | sale or transfer. |
33 | (j) The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall prioritize lead service |
34 | line replacements based on the percentage of lead services lines present within a community. |
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1 | Communities where lead service lines comprise over thirty-five percent (35%) of the public side |
2 | service line connections will be prioritized as high-priority. |
3 | (k) Water suppliers subject to this section shall complete the replacement of all lead service |
4 | lines in its service area within ten (10) years of the effective date of this section. |
5 | (l) Each water supplier shall provide an annual report to the governor, president of the |
6 | senate, speaker of the house, director of the department of health, and executive director of the |
7 | Rhode Island infrastructure bank. The report shall contain information, including, but not limited |
8 | to, the number of public services lines per community served and the number replaced, the number |
9 | of private service lines per community served and the number replaced, an estimated number of |
10 | service lines to be replaced, property type, number of private service line inspections conducted, |
11 | and annual expense to replace service lines. |
12 | (m) The department shall enforce the provisions of this section. |
13 | SECTION 3. Section 5-20.8-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-20.8 entitled "Real Estate |
14 | Sales Disclosures" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
15 | 5-20.8-11. Lead inspection requirement. |
16 | (a) Every contract for the purchase and sale of residential real estate (1-4 family)-built prior |
17 | to 1978 2011 located in the state shall provide that potential purchasers be permitted a ten-day (10) |
18 | period, unless the parties mutually agree upon a different period of time, to conduct a risk |
19 | assessment or inspection for the presence of lead exposure hazards before becoming obligated |
20 | under the contract to purchase. |
21 | (b) Failure to include the provision required in subsection (a) in the purchase and sale |
22 | agreement for residential real estate does not create any defect in title; provided, that each violation |
23 | of this section by the seller or his or her agent is subject to a civil penalty of not less than one |
24 | hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500). |
25 | (c) Failure to provide inspection results and/or educational materials pursuant to |
26 | department regulations required by § 23-24.6-16(a) does not create any defect in title; provided, |
27 | that each violation of this section by the seller or his or her agent is subject to a civil penalty of not |
28 | less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500). |
29 | (d) Failure to include the purchase and sale agreement provision required in subsection (a); |
30 | failure to provide inspection results pursuant to § 23-24.6-16(a); or inspection results that show a |
31 | lead exposure hazard as defined at § 23-24.6-4(12) entitles the purchaser to void the purchase and |
32 | sale agreement by providing notice, in writing, to the seller prior to the transfer of the title at closing. |
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1 | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004970 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LEAD POISONING PREVENTION ACT | |
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1 | This act would establish a lead water supply replacement program for public and private |
2 | service lines and requires disclosure to tenants and buyers of real property of the presence of lead |
3 | service lines. |
4 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004970 | |
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