October 29, 2007, Introduced by Senators VAN WOERKOM, BIRKHOLZ, PATTERSON, SANBORN, RICHARDVILLE, JANSEN, GEORGE, PAPPAGEORGE, ALLEN, KAHN, CROPSEY, HARDIMAN, GARCIA, JELINEK, GILBERT and BISHOP and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 399, entitled
"Safe drinking water act,"
by amending section 4 (MCL 325.1004), as amended by 2006 PA 601.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 4. (1) A supplier of water shall file with the department
the plans and specifications of the entire waterworks system owned
or operated by the supplier, unless the department determines that
its existing records are adequate. A general plan of the waterworks
system for each public water supply shall be provided to the
department by a supplier of water and shall be updated as
determined necessary by the department.
(2) Upon receipt of the plans and specifications for a
proposed waterworks system, the department shall evaluate the
adequacy of the proposed system to protect the public health by
supplying water meeting the state drinking water standards and, if
applicable, shall evaluate the impact of the proposed system as
provided in subsections (3) and (4). The department shall also
conduct a capacity assessment for a proposed community supply or
nontransient noncommunity water supply and determine if the system
has the technical, financial, and managerial capacity to meet all
requirements of this act and the rules promulgated under this act,
on the date of commencement of operations. If upon evaluation the
department determines the plans and specifications to be inadequate
or the capacity assessment shows the system to be inadequate, the
department may return the plans and specifications to the applicant
and require additions or modifications as may be appropriate. The
department may reject plans and specifications for a waterworks
system that will not satisfactorily provide for the protection of
the public health or, if applicable, will not meet the standards
provided
in subsections (3) and subsection
(4). The department may
deny a permit for construction of a proposed community supply or a
nontransient noncommunity water supply if the capacity assessment
shows that the proposed system does not have adequate technical,
financial, or managerial capacity to meet the requirements of this
act and the rules promulgated under this act.
(3)
The department may shall evaluate the impact of a proposed
waterworks system for a community supply owned by a political
subdivision that will do any of the following:
(a) Provide new total designed withdrawal capacity of more
than
2,000,000 gallons of water per day from a source of water
other
than the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways the
waters of the state.
(b) Provide an increased total designed withdrawal capacity of
more
than 2,000,000 gallons of water per day from a source of water
other
than the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways the
waters of the state beyond the system's total designed withdrawal
capacity.
(c)
Provide new total designed withdrawal capacity of more
than
5,000,000 gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes and
their
connecting waterways.
(d)
Provide an increased total designed withdrawal capacity of
more
than 5,000,000 gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes
and
their connecting waterways beyond the system's total designed
withdrawal
capacity.
(c) Provide new total designed withdrawal capacity or an
increased total designed withdrawal capacity that will transfer
more than 100,000 gallons per day average over any 90-day period
from the source watershed of a Great Lake to the watershed of
another Great Lake.
(4) The department shall reject the plans and specifications
for a proposed waterworks system evaluated under subsection (3) if
it determines that the proposed system will not meet the applicable
standard
provided in section 32723(5) or (6) 32723 of the natural
resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL
324.32723. ,
unless However, the
department may approve the plans
and specifications for a proposed waterworks system evaluated under
subsection (3) that the department determines will not meet the
applicable standard provided in section 32723 if the plans and
specifications do not allow the transfer of more than 100,000
gallons per day average over any 90-day period from the source
watershed of a Great Lake to the watershed of another Great Lake
and both of the following conditions are met:
(a) The department determines that there is no feasible and
prudent alternative location for the withdrawal.
(b) The department includes in the approval conditions related
to depth, pumping capacity, rate of flow, and ultimate use that
ensure that the environmental impact of the withdrawal is balanced
by the public benefit of the withdrawal related to public health,
safety, and welfare.
(5) Before commencing the construction of a waterworks system
or an alteration, addition, or improvement to a system, a supplier
of water shall submit the plans and specifications for the
improvements to the department and secure from the department a
permit for construction as provided by rule. Plans and
specifications submitted to the department shall be prepared by a
professional engineer licensed under article 20 of the occupational
code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.2001 to 339.2014. A contractor, builder,
or supplier of water shall not engage in or begin the construction
of a waterworks system or an alteration, addition, or improvement
to a waterworks system until a valid permit for the construction
has been secured from the department. A contractor, builder, or
supplier of water who permits or allows construction to proceed
without a valid permit, or in a manner not in accordance with the
plans and specifications approved by the department, violates this
act. A supplier of water shall not issue a voucher or check or in
any other way expend money or provide consideration for
construction of a waterworks system unless a valid permit issued by
the department is in effect. The department may issue a permit with
conditions to correct minor design deficiencies. If eligible, a
supplier may request an expedited review of an application for a
permit under section 4a.
(6) The department may deny a permit for construction of a
waterworks system or an alteration, addition, or improvement to a
waterworks system if the most recent capacity assessment shows that
the waterworks system does not have adequate technical, financial,
or managerial capacity to meet the requirements of this act and the
rules promulgated under this act, and the deficiencies identified
in that capacity assessment remain uncorrected, unless the proposed
construction will remedy the deficiencies.
(7) The department may verbally approve minor modifications of
a construction permit issued by the department as a result of
unforeseen site conditions that become apparent during
construction. Minor modifications include, but are not limited to,
extending a hydrant lead or routing a water main around a manhole.
A supplier making a request for a modification shall provide to the
department all relevant information required under this section and
the application form provided by the department related to the
modification. A supplier shall obtain written approval from the
department for all modifications to a waterworks system except when
the department provides verbal approval for a minor modification as
provided for in this subsection. A supplier receiving a written or
verbal approval from the department shall submit revised plans and
specifications to the department within 10 days from the date of
approval.
(8) If a supplier seeks confirmation of the department's
verbal approval of a minor modification under subsection (7), the
supplier shall notify the department electronically, at an address
specified by the department, with a detailed description of the
request for the modification. The department shall make reasonable
efforts to respond within 2 business days, confirming whether the
request has been approved or not approved. If the department has
not responded within 2 business days after the department receives
the detailed description, the verbal approval shall be considered
confirmed.
(9) As used in this section, "Great Lakes", "source
watershed", and "waters of the state" mean those terms as they are
defined in section 32701.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless all of the following bills of the 94th Legislature are
enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No. 212.
(b) Senate Bill No. 860.
(c) Senate Bill No. 859.