§ 23-24.6-28. Lead water supply replacement.
(a) Water suppliers shall develop a service line inventory no later than October 16, 2024,
to determine the existence or absence of lead within each water connection in its
service area. This inventory shall be completed in accordance with all applicable
state and federal requirements including, but not limited to, the IIJA. Water suppliers
shall include in their inventories a list of all private side lead service replacements
performed in their service areas since January 1, 2018. Transient non-community water
systems are exempt from this section.
(b) The service line inventory shall include all service lines and shall classify which
are:
(1) Lead service lines;
(2) Non-lead; and
(3) Lead status unknown.
(c)(1) Once completed, each water supplier shall provide a copy of its inventory to the
department and to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank. This inventory shall be posted
on the department's website and on the water supplier's website. Water suppliers without
a website shall make the most recent service line inventory available in a publicly
accessible location in each community they serve.
(2) The department shall:
(i) Establish a webpage that serves as a public dashboard to track progress towards the
deadline in subsection (a) of this section for each public water supply system;
(ii) Publish and maintain online a map of the location of each service line and identify
whether it is a lead service line or may be of unknown material and allow this map
to serve as compliance for participating public water supply systems with requirements
at 40 C.F.R. § 141.84(a)(8) that direct the systems to make the service line materials inventory publicly accessible;
and
(iii) Define disadvantaged communities consistent with federal guidance.
(d) When conducting the inventory of service lines in its distribution system for the
initial inventory pursuant to this section, a water supplier shall use any information
on lead and galvanized iron or steel that it has identified pursuant to applicable
state and federal requirements.
(e) Water suppliers may utilize the following to develop a service line inventory:
(1) Visual inspection during planned maintenance, meter replacement, and main replacement
projects;
(2) Solicitation and receipt of comments, complaints, and other input from customers in
the service area;
(3) Historical building records and other available data from the American Water Works
Association or other industry research groups; and/or
(4) Any other procedures and resources, including from 40 C.F.R. § 141.84(a)(3), the water supplier deems appropriate for identifying lead service lines.
(f)(1) Within thirty (30) days of identifying a lead service line, the water supplier shall
provide written notice to the property owner, the tenants of the building, and the
director of the presence of lead service lines or lead status unknown service lines.
The notice shall be multilingual and include information describing the sources of
lead in drinking water, description of the health effects of lead exposure, and steps
customers can take to mitigate exposure to lead in drinking water. This notice shall
include lead service line replacement instructions and contact information to schedule
a service line inspection and replacement.
(2) Mitigation measures shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) A water supplier providing a filter pitcher or point-of-use device certified by an
American Standards Institute accredited certifier to reduce lead;
(ii) Instructions to use the filter; and
(iii) Six (6) months of filter replacement cartridges.
(g) A water supplier without an established lead service line replacement program shall
coordinate with the department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank to develop
a replacement program.
(h) A water supplier shall develop and submit to the department a lead service replacement
plan in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Environmental Protection
Agency Lead and Copper Rule Improvements.
(i) The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall coordinate with water
suppliers to implement lead replacement programs, including assisting with providing
financial assistance to the extent the funds are available.
(j) The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall assist water suppliers
with grants, loans, or other financial assistance to ensure that public service lines
containing lead are replaced in accordance with this chapter.
(k) Based on the inventories provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the
department, the water suppliers, and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall determine
the estimated total cost associated with all private side replacements. Consistent
with any applicable federal law and regulation and to the extent funds are available,
the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall utilize federal funds allocated under section
50105 of the IIJA for the specific purpose of reducing lead in drinking water, to
enable water suppliers to meet all eligible private side lead service replacement
cost.
(l) In the event total costs exceed available federal funding allocated under section
50105 of the IIJA, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank may request appropriations
in one or more fiscal years from the general assembly sufficient to meet the outstanding
total cost of all identified outstanding private side lead service line replacements.
(m) For properties with a lead service line or a lead status unknown service line, water
suppliers shall inspect, at no cost to the property owner, the private side service
lines to determine whether lead or galvanized iron or steel is present. If lead is
detected in the private service line, the private service line shall be replaced in
accordance with all applicable federal and state requirements.
(n) The water supplier shall replace the entire lead service line, if lead is present
in the public side. The water supplier shall replace the entire lead service line
with minor disruption to water service unless there is either an emergency or all
persons served by the service line object to the replacement in writing. Transient
non-community water systems shall be exempt from lead service line replacements.
(o) In the event a property owner refuses to allow the inspection or replacement of private
side service lines, the water supplier shall file notice of all attempts to inspect
or replace the private side service lines and the property owner's refusal to allow
inspection or replacement services with the department. The notice shall state at
a minimum: the date and time of each attempt; the name of the person who refused each
attempt; and the name and signature of the person who made each attempt. The address
where each refusal took place shall be published on the appropriate department website
to ensure occupants of the building have notice of the potential lead in the service
line. The notice shall be filed within thirty (30) days following the second refusal
by the property owner. The notice shall be written as a multilingual document. In
the event that a water service line in a rental property is found to contain lead
and the property owner declines or is unresponsive, the tenant shall be entitled to
make a second (2nd) request to the property owner for service line replacement. If
the property owner refuses or fails to respond within sixty (60) days, the tenant
shall have the option to terminate the lease. Upon termination, the property owner
may not withhold the tenant's security deposit based upon the tenant's exercise of
their termination rights under this section.
(p) If the property is a rental property, the owner shall inform the tenants of the presence
of lead in accordance with § 23-24.6-15(b). If the owner fails to provide tenants with timely notification of the existence
of lead in service lines to the building the owner shall be subject to civil penalty
in accordance with § 23-24.6-27.
(q) When a property owner transfers the ownership of property, they shall disclose the
presence of lead service lines. Pursuant to § 5-20.8-11, every contract for the transfer or purchase and sale of real estate that is or may
be served by a service line containing lead shall provide that potential purchasers
be permitted a ten-day (10) period, unless the parties mutually agree upon a different
period of time, to conduct a risk assessment or an inspection of the property's water
service lines for the presence of lead hazards before becoming obligated under the
contract to transfer or purchase. Parties may mutually agree to waive a risk assessment
or an inspection.
(r) The department and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall prioritize the allocation
of funds for private lead service line replacements in accordance with all federal
requirements and based on the percentage of private lead service lines present within
a water supplier service area, which shall be based on factors including, but not
limited to:
(1) Targeting known lead service lines;
(2) Targeting available funds to lead service line replacements for disadvantaged water
suppliers; and
(3) Targeting populations most sensitive to the effects of lead.
(s) Upon award of funds for lead service replacements, water suppliers shall prioritize
projects within their service area to disadvantaged customers and those who are most
sensitive to the effects of lead.
(t) For any award of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or greater to a water supplier for
a lead service line replacement project, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall
require water suppliers and their contractors to participate in an approved apprenticeship
program for all apprenticeable crafts or trades that will be employed on the project
at the time of bid.
(u) Contingent upon available funding, each water supplier shall complete the replacement
of all public and private lead service lines in its service area within ten (10) years
of the effective date of this section [June 24, 2023] unless otherwise provided in
this section. All lead service line replacement projects funded under this section
shall be completed in accordance with all applicable state and federal requirements
including, but not limited to, the IIJA and related federal regulations and guidance.
(v) Upon completion of the lead service line inventory or no earlier than January 1, 2025,
any water supplier that provided financing to its customers for private side lead
service replacement after January 1, 2018, may be eligible for reimbursement from
the state for costs associated with private side lead service replacements financed
by its customers. State reimbursement shall be subject to appropriation by the general
assembly. The water supplier shall submit request for reimbursements to the department.
Within ninety (90) days of receipt of funds from the state, the water supplier shall
reimburse each customer for costs incurred in connection with their private side lead
service replacement project.
(w) Each water supplier shall provide an annual report to the governor, president of the
senate, speaker of the house, director of the department of health, and executive
director of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank within ninety (90) days of the end
of each fiscal year. The report shall contain information, including, but not limited
to: the number of public service lines per community served and the number replaced;
the number of private service lines per community served and the number replaced;
an estimated number of service lines to be replaced; property type; number of private
service line inspections conducted; and annual expense to replace service lines. Water
suppliers whose initial inventories contain only non-lead service lines are not required
to provide subsequent annual reports required in this section.
(x) Water suppliers may coordinate with the department and nonprofit lead advocacy organizations
to reach residents in communities with lead infrastructure. This coordination may
include, but is not limited to, developing education materials, awareness communications,
and outreach campaigns.
(y) The department shall enforce the provisions of this section.