ASSEMBLY, No. 4821

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 24, 2022

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK

District 18 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman  HERB CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblyman  GARY S. SCHAER

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Benson and Assemblywoman Carter

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Directs DEP to adopt regulations concerning identification and testing of microplastics in drinking water.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning the identification and testing of microplastics in drinking water and supplementing P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.).

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The Drinking Water Quality Institute established pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1983, c.443 (C.58:12A-20) shall study the issue of microplastics in drinking water and, within two years after the effective date of this act, recommend to the Department of Environmental Protection a definition of microplastics in drinking water.

 

     2.    No later than three years after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection shall:

     a.     adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics;

     b.    adopt requirements for four years of testing and reporting the concentration of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems, including public disclosure of test results; and

     c.     accredit qualified laboratories in New Jersey to analyze microplastics.

 

     3.    The Department of Environmental Protection may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the provisions of this act.

 

     4.  This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) to study the issue of microplastics in drinking water.  It also requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt regulations related to the sampling and testing for the presence of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems.

     The bill directs the DWQI to recommend a definition of microplastics in drinking water within two years after the bill’s effective date.  The bill also directs the DEP, within three years after the effective date, to adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics, to formulate requirements for testing and reporting the concentration of microplastics in drinking water by public water systems, and to accredit qualified laboratories in New Jersey to analyze microplastics.

     Microplastics are abundant in the environment and have been detected in the ocean, wastewater, fresh water, food, air, and drinking water.  Microplastics may absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment, such as harmful bacteria found in wastewater treatment plants.  Microplastics also may contain chemicals left over from the manufacturing process.  In addition, in a study of drinking water in the United States, 94 percent of the samples contained microplastics, including a sample collected from the United States Environmental Protection Agency headquarters.

     In 2018, California passed a law requiring the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to adopt:  (1) a definition of microplastics in drinking water; (2) a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics; and (3) requirements for four years of testing and reporting of microplastics in drinking water, including public disclosure of those results.  On June 16, 2020, the State Water Board adopted a definition of “microplastics in drinking water,” and since then, the State Water Board has been working to adopt standardized methods for monitoring, extracting, analyzing, testing, and reporting microplastics in drinking water.