For Immediate Release
Contact: Taylor.McFarland@SierraClub.org
Today, Governor Murphy signed two bills into law to address the ongoing lead crisis in New Jersey. The first bill, S1147 (Ruiz), requires lead paint inspection prior to home purchases and tenant turnover. It also establishes an educational program on lead hazards.
“This new law will help find lead in homes, which will help protect children from being exposed to lead in the first place. Home lead inspections are critical. We also need a long-term solution that will help remove lead from our schools and especially the older homes. We must work on removing lead from homes but also from our drinking water through old infrastructure,” said Taylor McFarland, Acting Director, Sierra Club New Jersey. “This is the beginning of dealing with a systemic problem that’s going to take years to solve and a lot of work and funding to get done.”
The second bill, A5343 (Schaer), requires public community water systems to inventory and replace lead service lines within 10 years; provides for recoupment of costs by investor-owned public water systems.
“Not only will this law help find out where lead lines are, but it will help come up with a mechanism to pay to replace those lines. Lead is one of the most hazardous substances known to man and it impacts children, especially small children, in our urban areas. It can cause illness and even in small amounts can lead to learning disabilities,” said Taylor McFarland, Acting Director, Sierra Club New Jersey. “We need to pass more legislation and establish programs to protect our drinking water from lead. We need to protect our most precious resources - our children.”