New York State has passed a new legislation, the Lead Pipe Right to Know Act, requiring public water systems to make service line inventory information available to the public.
Also known as legislation S.5512/A.6115, the act requires water utilities across the state to publicly share how many lead service lines are present in their distribution system and where those lines are located.
State Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill on Wednesday, Dec. 19. The act has taken effect immediately.
The legislation aims to help policymakers understand the full scale and extent of the lead service line issue. This should help secure state and federal resources to remove lead pipes across New York.
The U.S. EPA is already requiring water utilities to develop lead service line inventories by October 16, 2024. The passage of the Lead Pipe Right to Know Act will codify these inventory requirements and make the data more available to the public.
Under the act, public water systems must submit a service line inventory form to the New York Department of Health. Initial service line inventories, and an initial inventory summary form, must be submitted to the department by October 16, 2024.
The full legislation text, and with a list of the service line inventory form’s requirements, are available online.
