SENATE BILL NO. 920

June 13, 2024, Introduced by Senators IRWIN, CHERRY and SHINK and referred to the Committee on Housing and Human Services.

A bill to amend 1976 PA 399, entitled

"Safe drinking water act,"

by amending sections 2, 5, and 10 (MCL 325.1002, 325.1005, and 325.1010), sections 2 and 5 as amended by 1998 PA 56 and section 10 as amended by 1993 PA 165.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 2. As used in this act:

(a) "Bottled drinking water" means water that is ultimately sold, provided, or offered for human consumption in a closed container.

(b) "Capacity assessment" means an evaluation of the technical, financial, and managerial capability of a community supply or nontransient noncommunity water supply to comply and maintain compliance with all requirements of this act and the rules promulgated under this act.

(c) "Community supply" means a both of the following:

(i) A public water supply that provides year-round service to not fewer than 15 living units or which regularly provides year-round service to not fewer than 25 residents.

(ii) A public water supply that provides year-round service to a mobile home park and all customer service connections and customer site piping that provide year-round service to each mobile home located within the mobile home park. As used in this subparagraph, "mobile home" and "mobile home park" mean those terms as defined in section 2 of the mobile home commission act, 1987 PA 96, MCL 125.2302.

(d) "Contaminant" means a physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.

(e) "Customer service connection" means the pipe between a water main and customer site piping or building plumbing system.

(f) "Customer site piping" means an underground piping system owned or controlled by the customer that conveys water from the customer service connection to building plumbing systems and other points of use on lands owned or controlled by the customer and that, except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (c)(ii) and (k)(ii), is owned or controlled by the customer. Customer site piping does not include any system that incorporates treatment to protect public health.

(g) "Department" means the department of environmental quality environment, Great Lakes, and energy, or its authorized agent or representative.

(h) "Director" means the director of the department of environmental quality or his or her the director's authorized agent or representative.

(i) "Imminent hazard" means that in the judgment of the director there is a violation, or a condition that may cause a violation, of the state drinking water standards at a public water supply requiring immediate action to prevent endangering the health of people.

(j) "Living unit" means a house, apartment, or other domicile occupied or intended to be occupied on a day to day basis by an individual, family group, or equivalent.

(k) "Noncommunity supply" means a both of the following:

(i) A public water supply that is not a community supply, but that has not less than 15 service connections or that serves not fewer than 25 individuals on an average daily basis for not less than 60 days per year.

(ii) A public water supply that is not a community supply, but that provides service to a seasonal mobile home park and all customer service connections and customer site piping that provide service to each mobile home located within the seasonal mobile home park. As used in this subparagraph, "mobile home" and "seasonal mobile home park" mean those terms as defined in section 2 of the mobile home commission act, 1987 PA 96, MCL 125.2302.

(l) "Nontransient noncommunity water supply" means a noncommunity public water supply that serves not fewer than 25 of the same individuals on an average daily basis over 6 months per year. This definition Nontransient noncommunity water supply includes water supplies in places of employment, schools, and day-care centers.

(m) "Person" means an individual, partnership, copartnership, cooperative, firm, company, public or private association or corporation, political subdivision, agency of the this state, agency of the federal government, trust, estate, joint structure company, or any other legal entity, or their legal representative, agent, or assigns.

(n) "Plans and specifications" means drawings, data, and a true description or representation of an entire waterworks system or parts of the system as it exists or is to will be constructed, and a statement on how a waterworks system is to will be operated.

(o) "Political subdivision" means a city, village, township, charter township, county, district, authority, or portion or combination thereof.

(p) "Public water supply" means a waterworks system that provides water for drinking or household purposes to persons other than the supplier of the water, and does not include either of the following:

(i) A waterworks system that supplies water to only 1 living unit.

(ii) A waterworks system that consists solely of customer site piping.

(q) "State drinking water standards" means quality standards setting limits for contaminant levels or establishing treatment techniques to meet standards necessary to protect the public health.

(r) "Service connection" means a direct connection from a distribution water main to a living unit or other site to provide water for drinking or household purposes.

(s) "Source water assessment" means a state program to delineate the boundaries of areas in the this state from which 1 or more public water supplies receive supplies of drinking water, to identify contaminants regulated under this act for which monitoring is required because the this state has determined they the contaminants may present a threat to public health, and, to the extent practical, to determine the susceptibility of the public water supply in the delineated area to these contaminants.

(t) "Supplier of water" or "supplier" means a person who that owns or operates a public water supply, and includes a water hauler.

(u) "Transient noncommunity water supply" means a noncommunity supply that does not meet the definition of nontransient noncommunity water supply.

(v) "Water hauler" means a person engaged in bulk vehicular transportation of water to other than the water hauler's own household which that is intended for use or used for drinking or household purposes. Excluded from this definition are those persons providing Water hauler does not include a person that provides water solely for employee use.

(w) "Water main" means a pipe owned or controlled by a supplier that may convey water to a customer service connection or to a fire hydrant.

(x) "Waterworks system" or "system" means a system of pipes and structures through which water is obtained and distributed, including but not limited to wells and well structures, intakes and cribs, pumping stations, treatment plants, storage tanks, pipelines and appurtenances, or a combination thereof, actually used or intended for use for the purpose of furnishing water for drinking or household purposes.

(y) "Year-round service" means the ability of a supplier of water to provide drinking water on a continuous basis to a living unit or facility.

Sec. 5. (1) The department shall promulgate and enforce rules to carry out this act pursuant to in accordance with the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. The rules, at a minimum, shall must include the following:

(a) Requirements for the submission of reports, plans, and specifications for the design and construction of a waterworks system or a part thereof, of a waterworks system, and a plan for operating and maintaining all or a part of the waterworks system, including the protection of water quality within the distribution system as necessary to protect the public health.

(b) State drinking water standards and associated monitoring requirements, the attainment and maintenance of which are necessary to protect the public health.

(c) The classification of waterworks systems or portions thereof, of waterworks systems, the examination for certification of the operators of those systems including shift operators of water treatment systems, and for the issuance, suspension, and revocation of certificates.

(d) Criteria for capacity assessments performed by the department at community supplies, nontransient noncommunity water supplies, or a public water supply applying to the department for assistance under part 54 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.5401 to 324.5418.

(e) Requirements for provision of facilities by public water supplies that will assure ensure an adequate and reliable supply of drinking water on a continuous basis.

(f) Requirements for supplying water to mobile homes located within a mobile home park or a seasonal mobile home park, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Requirements and standards for installing, renovating, replacing, and maintaining a community supply and a noncommunity supply.

(ii) Requirements that ensure an adequate and reliable supply of drinking water on a continuous basis.

(iii) Requirements for operating and monitoring the waterworks system to protect the quality of water supplied to mobile homes located within a mobile home park or a seasonal mobile home park as necessary to protect the public health.

(2) Rules governing public water supplies promulgated under former 1913 PA 98, and which that were in effect on January 4, 1977 are continued in accordance with section 31 of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.231, and may be amended or rescinded by the director under this act.

(3) No rule promulgated may require the addition of any substance for preventive health care purposes unrelated to contamination of drinking water.

(4) As used in this section, "mobile home" "mobile home park" and "seasonal mobile home park" mean those terms as defined in section 2 of the mobile home commission act, 1987 PA 96, MCL 125.2302.

Sec. 10. (1) The department shall not approve a privately owned public water supply that serves a group of living units, unless by resolution of its governing body the city, village, or township in which the water supply is to will be located refuses to accept ownership and operational responsibility of the public water supply.

(2) If a local governmental agency does not accept ownership and operational responsibility of a public water supply that serves a group of living units, the department may issue a construction permit or other approval for an acceptable project requiring as a condition of the permit an appropriate amount, but not more than $50,000.00, based on the size, type, and complexity of the waterworks system, to be placed in escrow by the developer or private owner. An escrow fee incurred by a developer or private owner must not be passed on to the living units as part of the cost of service. The department may remove funds from this escrow account to cause deficiencies to be corrected if the public water supply is not operated, maintained, and expanded as necessary to protect the public health. If it is necessary for the department to withdraw funds from an escrow account, the funds shall must be replaced within 90 days by the developer, private owner, or organization then responsible for the public water supply.

(3) The department may reduce or eliminate any escrow account established under this section after 5 years of operation and maintenance considered satisfactory by the department.

(4) Before the transfer of ownership of a privately owned public water supply, a A private purchaser shall comply with subsections (1) and (2) of this section.if any of the following occur:

(a) There is a transfer of ownership of a privately owned public water supply.

(b) If the privately owned public water supply supplies water to mobile homes located within a mobile home park or seasonal mobile home park, the community supply or noncommunity supply is required to be renovated or replaced to protect public health.

(c) The department finds a deficiency.