New NJ law lets town officials go on private property to fix lead-tainted pipes

Trenton Bureau

New Jersey on Thursday gave Newark and other municipalities legal cover in their attempts to replace lead pipes after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill giving local leaders authority to access private properties.

State lawmakers had planned to send Murphy many more lead-related measures after high levels of the toxic metal were found in a small number of Newark homes last summer, but more than two dozen bills were stalled as the Legislature neared the end of its session. After the new legislative session starts Tuesday, all bills will have to start from scratch.

The bill Murphy signed, which becomes law immediately, came in response to the increased attention on lead levels in water prompted by Newark and a federal mandate that it distribute bottled water to certain residents.

Kareem Adeem, far right, holds a lead pipe that was taken from underneath Keer avenue where the city is replacing the lead pipes with copper piping that lead to residents' homes on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, in Newark. Adeem is the acting director of the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities for the city of Newark.

Backed by an infusion of $120 million from Essex County, Newark has moved on an aggressive timeline to replace lead pipes and fittings that have contributed to many years of problems with the city's water. But reaching landlords and property owners was a challenge, so the city passed an ordinance allowing it to go on a property even without an owner's permission to replace lead pipes.

Under the new law, cities and towns across New Jersey can pass such ordinances as long as they give at least 72 hours' notice.

“This new law will help municipalities address the problem with greater urgency, both in Newark and statewide,” Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, D-Essex, said in a statement. “It’s an extremely time-sensitive issue and by authorizing municipalities to enter properties to replace lead service lines, we can ensure the job gets done properly and expeditiously.”

The blue line in the graphic shows the portion of pipe that Suez is responsible up to the property line. The red line is the homeowner's responsibility.

Accessing properties is just one problem in replacing lead pipes and fixtures. The state does not have a complete inventory of lead pipes, and it estimates full replacement would cost upward of $2 billion.

Murphy has proposed borrowing a fraction of that, $500 million, to replaced lead pipes around the state. Lawmakers have said more money is needed but no funding plan has been put forward by them or Murphy.

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For the most part, lawmakers have failed to take sufficient action to eliminate the problem of lead pipes, a known threat since even before they were banned by the federal government 33 years ago. But the high lead levels found last summer in Newark once again drew widespread attention to the problem.

Follow-up testing in Newark showed lead levels below 10 parts per billion in 97.5% of homes tested. The federal standard for action is 15 parts per billion, but no amount of lead is safe for children.

Dustin Racioppi is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to his work covering New Jersey’s governor and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: racioppi@northjersey.com Twitter: @dracioppi