What Every New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Should Know about Lead

A 100% Preventable Public Health Scourge Calls for Public Response

Dear Candidate for Governor,

Lead-Free NJ (LFNJ) is a collaborative with nearly 300 members that centers Community Hubs—local grassroots organizations that advance local efforts and support statewide advocacy. The collaborative is working to eliminate lead exposure in New Jersey. LFNJ developed this document describing the state of lead exposure prevention in New Jersey and avenues to expand the work in the next Governor’s administration. This document is for educational purposes and does not endorse any specific candidate or policy. 

Lead Exposure is a Racial and Economic Injustice 

Lead poisoning in NJ disproportionately impacts children living in predominantly Black, Brown, and low-income communities. 

The NJ county with the highest percentage of children younger than six with an elevated blood lead level is Cumberland, which is also the county with the highest percentage of persons in poverty.

The large municipalities in NJ with the highest percentage of children younger than six with an elevated blood lead level are Trenton, Irvington, East Orange, Plainfield, and Paterson. These towns all contain majority Black and Brown populations, and the percentage of persons in poverty in these towns ranges from 17.1 to 24.7 percent, well above the state percentage of 9.7 percent [7]. 

To advance racial and economic justice, New Jersey’s next Governor must take action to eliminate lead exposure in the communities most impacted by the issue.

New Jersey Leads the Nation in Lead Poisoning Prevention – Let’s Keep Going

In 2021, New Jersey passed state laws that are the strongest in the nation to prevent lead exposure, including P.L. 2021, c. 182, requiring periodic inspection of certain rental housing for lead paint hazards, and P.L. 2021, Ch. 183, requiring the removal of drinking water lead service lines by 2031. These laws represent a paradigm shift in the battle against lead, prioritizing prevention instead of relying only on mitigation once exposure has occurred. 

NJ is making measurable progress in reducing elevated blood lead levels. Between 2017 and 2022, the percentage of children under six with an elevated level of lead in their blood dropped from 2.5% to 1.9%. Now is the time to keep up the momentum and ensure this legacy of lead exposure prevention becomes long-lasting. The next Governor should consider the following to protect the health of New Jersyians: 

Eliminate Sources of Lead Exposure

Lead poisoning is 100% preventable when sources of lead exposure are removed or remediated. 

Continue to advance implementation of NJ law requiring periodic lead paint inspections of certain rental housing (P.L. 2021, c. 182) 

• The Governor can prioritize public education about this law to inform landlords of their responsibilities and tenants of their rights.
• The Governor can promote collaborative approaches between the state and local governments to ensure municipalities track lead paint inspections and landlords remediate lead paint hazards using safe methods. Collaborations between local housing and health departments are particularly successful. 
• Tenants should not suffer housing insecurity or displacement due to lead paint hazards. The Governor can direct the NJ Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA) to support strong enforcement methods that protect tenants from retaliatory evictions and expand resources that keep families safely housed. 
• Although funding was allocated through the FY 2023 Lead Grant Assistance Program (LGAP) to support municipal implementation of the law, many towns lost out on the opportunity due to the application process and the tight timeline for using the funds. The Department of Community Affairs can make this funding available again and improve the process. 

Spend down all American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds dedicated to the NJDCA Lead Paint Remediation and Abatement Program (LRAP) by the Dec. 2026 deadline

• NJ families cannot afford to miss out on this much-needed support. The Governor can coordinate with NJDCA and legal counsel to ensure that LRAP agencies can issue lead-safe certificates to their clients that comply with P.L. 2021, c. 182, and expand LRAP eligibility for communities most in need of the support by allowing place-based eligibility through Qualified Census Tracts.

Dedicate state funding to lead service line replacement

• The state law requiring the replacement of lead service lines (LSLs), the primary source of lead exposure from drinking water, was passed without any dedicated funding for LSL replacement. In 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) acknowledged that the cost for lead service line replacement is between $2.1 billion and $3.2 billion statewide [10]
• The Governor can encourage NJDEP to continue prioritizing lead service line principal loan forgiveness for disadvantaged communities through the Drinking Water Intended Use Plan (IUP) once the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding expires.  
• The Governor can encourage NJDEP to consider set-asides for galvanized lines not downstream from lead that are not funded by federal dollars.

The Governor can support efforts to allocate funding, such as legislation authorizing state bonds for no-cost lead service line replacements to consumers.

Oversight for Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act

• The Department of Education (DOE) oversees the $100 million in state bonds authorized for water infrastructure improvements in NJ schools through the Securing Our Children’s Future program. Only $6.6 million of the $100 million dedicated to school lead in drinking water remediation has been spent. The DOE can take proactive steps to provide this funding to school districts.

Water filter support for schools and childcare facilities

• In New Jersey, current policy requires school districts to periodically test for lead in drinking water and take action when lead is found. However, testing methods do not capture the full risk of lead in drinking water exposure. Providing filters to proactively remove lead from drinking water is a more effective way to address this issue [12]. The Governor can support actions that increase the availability of water filters for schools and childcare facilities. 

Although preventing lead exposure is the priority, monitoring for exposure and providing appropriate healthcare for those exposed to lead is essential, focusing on populations most impacted by exposure, such as children under six and pregnant women. The next Governor can advance efforts to:

Increase access to childhood blood lead level testing

• Currently, insurance providers do not reimburse an adequate or even a standard amount for blood lead level testing. The Governor can support efforts that increase and standardize reimbursement for this essential and legally mandated test.
• Blood lead level testing is not convenient for working or income-restrained families. Often, healthcare providers do not provide testing at the point of care. Instead, families are referred to a laboratory, often at another location. Also, local health departments maintain testing hours that are infrequent, and during working hours. This creates financial and logistical barriers for parents who are restrained by access to transportation, time, and finances. The Governor can promote initiatives that make testing accessible to working families, such as testing at WIC offices, mobile testing at community events, and point-of-care testing at the doctor’s office.