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State legislation would speed response to lead issues in water
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Public systems would have two days to inform residents when dangerously high levels of lead are found in water supplies, under legislation being offered by Gov. John Kasich to lawmakers.
Those systems also would have two days to test homeowners’ water for lead contamination, and the state threshold for determining lead contamination in new building projects would be lowered to match federal standards.
The legislation comes after lead issues surfaced in water systems in Sebring.
“I think it is a huge step forward for the state, and we think it’s a great road map for the rest of the country to follow,” said Craig Butler, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The proposed law changes are part of the governor’s midbiennium budget review, this year encompassing a series of bills that include policy revisions in various state agencies. The administration released the details of the water-related legislation Thursday morning.
“Ohio has firsthand experience with shortcomings of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,” the governor’s office noted in a fact sheet outlining the legislation. “By pursuing improvements at the federal level while at the same time strengthening standards for state action, we can better help our communities safeguard their drinking water from lead.”
Under the administration’s proposal, Ohio would set its definition of “lead free” in new construction plumbing to 0.25 percent, down from the current 8 percent. The change would conform state requirements to federal standards.
State Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, applauded the announcement, but pointed out that the agency could do more to prevent privatization of the water-testing process.
“The process failed at the connection between the private state-certified vendor and the EPA,” Boccieri said, referring to the lead crisis that unfolded in Sebring earlier this year. “The state vendor submitted Sebring’s water test results to the EPA on Aug. 21, 2015, but the EPA didn’t exercise its legal and moral obligation to notify the public until six months later. That length of time is just too long for a public health crisis.”
Under a bill proposed by Boccieri, water systems must have their water-testing results compiled by the local county boards of health since these boards already test private water sources for lead. The local boards of health not only have robust testing processes in place, but also are the front-line communication link to local residents on matters of public health.
“Having a public health notification process rest with the water authority or the state EPA creates too many layers in which a fumble can occur,” Boccieri added. “It makes more sense to have testing and notification responsibility fall under county boards of health.”
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, praised the Kasich legislation, which he said was similar to a bill he introduced earlier.
“I am glad to see the administration is addressing the critical issue of lead contamination in Ohio’s drinking water,” Schiavoni said in a statement. “I have been actively working to improve Ohio’s testing and public notification procedures since we first learned of these problems in the village of Sebring in January. ... We are eager to work to ensure that in the future no Ohioans or their communities are forced to face the difficulties we have been seeing in Sebring.”
State lawmakers have balked at past attempts by the administration to codify the change, removing comparable provisions from last year’s biennial budget bill and previous midbiennium review legislation.
But Butler said the change already is being practiced, via federal requirements and other code enforcements.
“It is already in place,” he said.
Among other provisions in the legislation, water systems would have to inform residents of lead issues within two days, with “more in-depth public education” completed in 30. That’s a change from existing public notice requirements of 30-60 days after contamination is detected.
“If the water system fails to meet the tighter time lines, Ohio EPA will intervene to notify homeowners itself and will have the authority to impose an administrative penalty on the noncompliant system,” according to the governor’s office.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, commented: “It’s simple – if there are dangerous levels of lead in drinking water, families have the right to know as soon as possible. I’m pleased to see the state looking at what went wrong in Sebring and making adjustments, and I will continue pushing my legislation to strengthen accountability in the federal law as well.”