TRENTON, NJ, May 10, 2023 — Lead-Free NJ (LFNJ) members Yvette Jordan of the Newark Education Workers (NEW) Caucus and Shereyl Snider of East Trenton Collaborative submitted testimony for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2024 State Budget urging the NJ Senate to prioritize the replacement of toxic lead service lines (LSL), and reduce the threats that lead poisoning and poor infrastructure pose to public health.

The New Jersey Legislature passed legislation, and Governor Murphy signed, in 2021 that required the replacement of all lead service drinking lines by 2031. The legislation did not have funding attached to it. Separately, the state’s FY23 Budget included an appropriation of $170 million of American Rescue Plan funding to begin to address lead paint in homes.

“Members applaud the legislature for awarding $170 million in ARP funds to address lead in paint, there is still a need for additional funding. While the Legislature made great strides with the commitment to remove all lead service lines by 2031, it did not include any funding in the law to help with lead service line removal,” said Yvette Jordan, who is LFNJ’s Advocacy Committee co-chair and a member of the Steering Committee.

“An additional $700 million will mean a full investment of $1 billion will create over 13,000 well-paying jobs and spur an additional $2.9 billion in economic benefit, while helping to maintain affordable water and sewer rates for New Jersey families,” said Shereyl Snider, Lead-Free NJ’s Trenton Community Hub leader.

“In the state’s urban cities, like Trenton where I live and work, the city is plagued by poor housing and neglected water infrastructure. Between July 2020 to June 2021, among the five large municipalities with the highest percent of children under 6 years of age with an elevated blood lead level at or above 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter Trenton (6.4%), ranks the highest,” said Snider, Lead-Free NJ’s Trenton Community Hub leader.

“Lead exposure undermines public health, and is a particularly acute issue in communities burdened by systemic inequities. Every New Jerseyan deserves to live in a thriving community and a lead-free neighborhood,” said Yvette Jordan, an Advocacy Committee co-chair and Steering Committee member of LFNJ.

Read the full testimony from Yvette Jordan here.

Read the full testimony from Shereyl Snider here.

For more information on Lead-Free NJ, please visit: https://www.leadfreenj.org/