States turn on lead-free pipe rule
Concerns over lead content in drinking water led two states, California and Vermont, to enact regulations that prohibit any lead-containing pipes, plumbing fixtures and fittings that come into contact with potable water. The new laws went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.
In California, the ban applies to kitchen and bathroom faucets (tub and shower faucets are exempt); pipes, fittings and supply lines; select brass fittings; shut-off valves; angle stops; and solder. The law applies to anyone who sells, installs or repairs plumbing parts that carry drinking water supplies. Fines go as high as $6,000 per violation. All pipe, plumbing fixtures, solder or flux must be certified by an independent American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited third party.
Vermont does not require testing and certification, but like California, there was no grandfathering. The plumbing inventory with lead content had to be replaced by Jan. 1. The law was signed in June 2008, giving retailers less than two years to comply. (California dealers had a three-year grace period.)
“We’re a small market, and that created a problem for some of our members,” said Tom Lindberg, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA). Plumbing distributors didn’t go out of their way to bring lead-free plumbing lines to Vermont, and the state’s attorney general didn’t want to hear any excuses, Lindberg said.
In California, the Lumber Association of California and Nevada began warning its members a year in advance. True Value began the conversion process with its suppliers in November 2008, and the change-over ultimately involved the co-op’s supply chain, logistics and field rep departments. Things kicked into high gear in December 2009, when all the non-compliant merchandise had to be removed from the members’ stores and the new inventory replaced. According to Christopher Galardi, True Value’s global product merchant for plumbing and heating, 22 suppliers participated in the conversion: Anderson Metals, Mueller, Watts, Moen, Delta, Globe-Union, Homewerks Worldwide, Elkhart, Danze and Brasscraft.
