Get the Lead Out of Assisted Housing Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3721 To improve the removal of lead from drinking water in public housing. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 11, 2019 Mr. KILDEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve the removal of lead from drinking water in public housing. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Get the Lead Out of 4 Assisted Housing Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3721 IH (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 2 mental Protection Agency. 3 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 4 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 5 velopment. 6 (3) LEAD SERVICE LINE.—The term ‘‘lead serv- 7 ice line’’ has the meaning given the term in section 8 141.2 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or 9 any successor thereto. 10 (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro- 11 gram’’ means the program for providing grants es- 12 tablished under section 6(a). 13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 16 It is the sense of Congress that— 17 (1) lead is a dangerous neurotoxin that can per- 18 manently impact brain development, especially in 19 young children; 20 (2) the Centers for Disease Control, the Envi- 21 ronmental Protection Agency, the American Associa- 22 tion of Pediatrics, and many other entities have de- 23 termined that there is no safe level of lead exposure; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3721 IH (3) for vulnerable populations like young chil- 1 dren, pregnant mothers, and the elderly, exposure to 2 lead can be life altering; 3 (4) evidence is mounting that the lead in drink- 4 ing water problem in the United States is grossly 5 underestimated and inadequately addressed; 6 (5) according to the Environmental Protection 7 Agency, lead service lines are the single largest 8 source of lead in drinking water; and 9 (6) partial lead service line replacement, where 10 only a portion of a lead service line is replaced, can 11 increase lead exposure. 12 SEC. 4. UNIFORM PHYSICAL CONDITION STANDARDS. 13 The Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis- 14 trator, shall amend the physical condition standards set 15 forth in section 5.703 of title 24, Code of Federal Regula- 16 tions, to require that— 17 (1) the entities responsible for maintaining 18 housing inspect building systems to determine, using 19 tests that incorporate the best available technology 20 and science, if— 21 (A) there are lead service lines; or 22 (B) there is lead in the service line that 23 connects the interior plumbing to the public 24 water supply; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3721 IH (2) if a lead service line is found or lead is 1 found in a service line that connects to the interior 2 plumbing of the housing at the water meter, the en- 3 tity responsible for maintaining the housing shall— 4 (A) not later than 1 day after the date on 5 which the lead is found, notify each tenant of 6 the housing that the lead was found and of 7 safety precautions that should be taken; 8 (B) disclose that information within 30 9 days to any water utility entity relevant to the 10 housing; 11 (C) provide necessary interim measures to 12 reduce exposure to the lead, such as water fil- 13 ters designed to remove lead and other innova- 14 tive technologies, based on guidance from the 15 Administrator; and 16 (D) prohibit the partial replacement of 17 lead service lines. 18 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO INSPECT ALL SOURCES OF LEAD. 19 The Secretary may inspect all sources of lead con- 20 tamination in housing assisted by a program of the De- 21 partment and work in coordination with the Environ- 22 mental Protection Agency to mitigate sources of lead expo- 23 sure as a result of water from the public water supply 24 and ambient air levels or industrial emissions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3721 IH SEC. 6. HEALTHY HOMES LEAD IN DRINKING WATER PILOT 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 5 shall begin providing grants to State and local gov- 6 ernments responsible for developing consolidated 7 plans under part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal 8 Regulations. 9 (2) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall design the 10 grants under the pilot program to— 11 (A) identify lead service lines and other 12 sources of lead in drinking water serving hous- 13 ing units and take steps to remediate those 14 threats; and 15 (B) optimize corrosion control treatment in 16 public water systems serving housing units. 17 (b) ACTIVITIES.—A State or local government receiv- 18 ing a grant under the pilot program shall prioritize the 19 following activities: 20 (1) Creating an inventory of lead service lines, 21 which shall— 22 (A) be published on the website of the 23 State or local government; and 24 (B) involve— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3721 IH (i) working with local water utilities 1 that may have a similar inventory; 2 (ii) inspecting for lead service lines at 3 their entry point into a building using 4 methods that do not disturb the pipe; 5 (iii) conducting an inspection of visi- 6 ble pipes at all access points; and 7 (iv) prioritizing buildings based on the 8 age of the building, historical records, and 9 the size of the service line. 10 (2) Testing for lead in the drinking water at 11 child care facilities and schools and providing reme- 12 diation, as appropriate. 13 (3) Testing for lead in the drinking water at 14 water fountains in public facilities and providing re- 15 mediation, as appropriate. 16 SEC. 7. HEALTHY HOMES AND LEAD HAZARD CONTROL OF- 17 FICE. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Lead Hazard Con- 19 trol and Healthy Homes of the Department shall, when 20 providing grants for lead-based paint hazard reduction in 21 target housing under section 1011 of the Residential 22 Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (42 23 U.S.C. 4852)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3721 IH (1) ensure that testing for lead in drinking 1 water is conducted; 2 (2) require notification of tenants of the level of 3 lead in drinking water found; and 4 (3) offer interim controls, such as the installa- 5 tion of water filters known to remove lead. 6 (b) USE OF FUNDS FOR REPLACEMENT.—The Sec- 7 retary shall allow recipients of assistance from the Office 8 of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes of the De- 9 partment or another program of the Department to use 10 the funds to replace leaded water fixtures and lead service 11 lines. 12 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 14 retary such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 15 Act. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3721.IH H3721 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS