RSB/2/19
Sponsored by Lars Renlund of Baylor School
This legislation was filed in the Environment and Conservation category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT LEGISLATURE: |
| 2 | Section 1: Terms used in this act, unless the context requires otherwise, shall be defined as |
| 3 | follows: |
| 4 | TDEC: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation |
| 5 | Microplastic: Any plastic particulate under 5 millimeters (approximately 0.1969 inches) |
| 6 | Particulates per Liter: Number of particulates in one liter of liquid; abbreviated PPL |
| 7 | Water Treatment Plant: Any state-owned facility within the borders of the State of Tennessee |
| 8 | designed to treat or purify naturally sourced water for human consumption. |
| 9 | Magnet: Any material that produces a magnetic field |
| 10 | Magnetic Nano-Pillared Material: A specific nanomaterial (material smaller than 100 nanometers) |
| 11 | structured in a pillar-like state with magnetic properties. The specific magnetic nano-pillared |
| 12 | material is 2D MOF@C@FeO, and it has the properties of collecting microplastics and becoming |
| 13 | buoyant in water. |
| 14 | Contaminated Water: Any water containing greater than 10 PPL. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 2: Removal of Microplastics from Tennessee Drinking Water |
| 17 | TDEC shall require all water treatment plants to use Magnetic Nano-Pillared Material for the |
| 18 | removal of microplastics from drinking water. |
| 19 | Water treatment plants shall be equipped with the proper magnetic filtration systems to effectively |
| 20 | collect microplastics present in the water via Magnetic Nano-Pillared Materials. |
| 21 | TDEC shall provide guidelines for all aspects of installation, operation, and maintenance of these |
| 22 | new systems to ensure both efficacy and public safety are maintained. |
| 23 | Twice monthly, water treatment plants shall monitor and report the number of microplastics in the |
| 24 | treated drinking water. This report will be submitted to TDEC to be digitally dispersed to the |
| 25 | public. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Section 3: Implementation of Magnetic Nano-Pillared Materials in Water Treatment Plants |
| 28 | Within one year of the enactment date, all water treatment plants must have implemented the |
| 29 | proper infrastructure to facilitate the use of Magnetic Nano-Pillared Materials |
| 30 | TDEC shall aid the implementation of the proper infrastructure for specific systems relating to |
| 31 | Magnetic Nano-Pillared Material filtration systems. |
| 32 | Water treatment plants shall submit weekly reports to the TDEC containing details of the |
| 33 | implementation process. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Section 4: Legal Repercussions |
| 36 | Water treatment plants failing to meet the implementation deadline specified in Section 3 shall be |
| 37 | |
| 38 | TDEC shall establish an increasingly severe punishment system based on the severity and duration |
| 39 | of non-compliance. Penalties may include fines, suspension of operations, or other appropriate |
| 40 | measures. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Section 5: Funding |
| 43 | Funding for the implementation and continued maintenance of these systems shall be allocated |
| 44 | from the existing Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Budget. The necessary |
| 45 | funding will vary annually. |
| 46 | Annual funding requirements will be determined by the Tennessee Department of Environment and |
| 47 | Conservation and shall be reflected in increases or decreases in departmental funding. |
| 48 | All fines collected in Section 4 shall be utilized towards increasing funding of this bill. |
| 49 | Any additional funding may be found through partnerships from federal and private sources or |
| 50 | through the Tennessee Rainy Day Fund. The maximum amount of funding from the Tennessee |
| 51 | Rainy Day Fund shall be set at $1,000,000 per year. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Section 6: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 54 | |
| 55 | Section 7: This act will be enacted on July 1st, 2026. |
| 56 |