Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Comments Close Monday On Montana Proposal Requiring Schools To Test For Lead

water fountain
ccbysa
/
flickr
The public comment period on a state proposal to require all public schools to test for lead closes Monday September 16.

 

The comment period on a proposal that would require all public schools in Montana to test faucets for lead ends Monday.

Right now, the state only requires buildings connected to their own water source to sample for lead, and that counts for schools, too.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has been working on a proposal that changes that. It’s aimed at identifying lead contamination in schools around the state.

Jon Ebelt, a spokesperson for DPHHS, told YPR that the Department has received about 30 comments on the proposed rulemaking notice.

An environmental research organization, Environment Montana, released a report this year that shows there’s lead in school drinking water in many different states including Montana.

Of four districts that voluntarily tested, about 75 percent of water samples were positive for at least minimal levels of lead, although below the concentration maximum required before intervention.

The public comment period ends Monday at 5 p.m.

Public comment may be submitted to: Gwen Knight, Department of Public Health and Human Services, P.O. Box 4210, Helena, Montana, 59604-4210; telephone (406) 444-4094; fax (406) 444-9744; or e-mail dphhslegal@mt.gov, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., September 16, 2019

Kayla writes about energy policy, the oil and gas industry and new electricity developments.