Senate bill could help Ohio schools tackle lead water
WASHINGTON — The Senate advanced legislation last week that would authorize $20 million for schools and daycare centers to test their drinking water for lead contamination.
The measure also would require federal environmental officials to notify the public within 15 days of detecting toxic lead levels in drinking water. And it would authorize new money for public health monitoring linked to lead poisoning and for low-interest loans to states to upgrade drinking water systems.
The provisions come after a school in Granville and the village of Sebring discovered high levels of lead in their drinking water. Nationally, about 350 schools and daycare centers failed tests for lead in drinking water from 2012 through 2015, according to an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data by the USA TODAY Network published last month.
Lead found in some Granville school fountains
The lead-related proposals — pushed by Ohio Sens. Sherrod Brown, D, and Rob Portman, R, among others — were attached to the Water Resources Development Act, a $9.3 billion bill that authorizes projects to boost America’s ports, harbors and river navigation. That bill, considered must-pass legislation, cleared the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee 19-to-1 on Thursday.
The issue of lead-contaminated water has grabbed national headlines since last fall, when officials disclosed high levels of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan, sparking a public health crisis in that city. The water resources bill would authorize $100 million in emergency funding for Flint, among other provisions.
“This came out of the Flint, Mich., crisis, but I wanted to be sure it also would … help citizens in Ohio,” Portman told reporters last week.
Brown plans to trumpet the Senate proposal in Columbus on Tuesday, saying it’s vital for the federal government to help schools make sure water kids drink is free of lead and other toxins.
Earlier this month, Granville officials announced higher-than-acceptable lead levels were found in some drinking fountains in Granville Exempted Village Schools, located just east of Columbus. School superintendent Jeff Brown said he decided to test the water after the Flint disclosures raised concerns about older water infrastructure systems.
As city officials examine how best to deal with the tainted water, the contaminated fountains have been closed and children have been offered bottled water.
The bill approved by the Senate committee would authorize $17.5 million to create a national registry to monitor how lead exposure affects children's health. It also would authorize $700 million in low-interest loans to finance much-needed upgrades to public drinking water systems.
The Ohio legislature is looking at a separate $10 million grant program to reimburse schools for replacing drinking fountains and other fixtures found to be the cause of high lead levels.
Flint measure slipped into water development bill
The federal water resources bill authorizes spending on Army Corps of Engineers projects across the country, and it usually enjoys widespread support in Congress.
If the bill becomes law, it will enact the lead-related policy changes but it will not automatically increase funding. That would have to come later, through the annual appropriations bills.
Supporters say the scope and the urgency of the lead crisis will prompt Congress to follow through with funding.
"I think there is a consensus congealing on doing something about lead,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the chief author of the school testing provisions.
Contributing: Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press.