SB 504

SENATE BILL NO. 504
A bill to amend 1976 PA 399, entitled
"Safe drinking water act,"
by amending section 5 (MCL 325.1005), as amended by
1998 PA 56, and by adding section 6a.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
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 all or a part of a waterworks
system, or a part
thereof, and a plan for operating and maintaining all or a part of the a 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 all or a part of a waterworks
systems or portions thereof, system, the examination for certification of the
operators of those waterworks
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 the establishment and administration of the
microplastics program created in section 6a.
(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1969 PA 306, MCL 24.231, and may be amended or rescinded by the director under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.
Sec. 6a. (1)
Beginning July 1, 2027, and continuing until July 1, 2030, the department shall
establish and administer a microplastics program to establish microplastic
baseline conditions in public water supplies. As part of the microplastics
program, the department shall monitor and test public water supplies on a
quarterly basis using sampling and analytical methods consistent with methods
used or described by the International Joint Commission, the American Society
for Testing and Materials, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the
American National Standards Institute, the state of California, or best
available methods or technology. The microplastics program is intended to
provide for a preliminary risk assessment to study the effects of microplastics
in drinking water. Under the microplastics program, the department shall
consider all of the following:
(a) Shoreline surface water drinking water sources from the Great Lakes.
(b) Major tributaries that support public water supplies.
(c) Inland surface water lakes that provide drinking water.
(d) Direct use of groundwater for drinking water within and near
agricultural operations.
(e) Use of groundwater or drinking water within 1 mile of a landfill
operation.
(f) The size of the public water supply.
(g) Impacts on environmental justice.
(h) Quarterly sample collection and analysis.
(2) Not later than July 1, 2031, the department shall prepare and submit
a report to the standing committees and the appropriations subcommittees of the
senate and house of representatives with primary responsibility for issues
under the jurisdiction of the department and make the report available on the
department's website. The report must include the following:
(a) A summary of findings, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
(i) Reports or
technical memoranda that provide a summary of each quarterly test described
under subsection (1), including, but not limited to, the following information:
(A) Drinking water source, location, and description.
(B) Sampling date.
(C) Testing methodology.
(D) Microplastic shape, if available.
(E) Potential microplastic sources.
(F) Polymer type, if available.
(ii) The quantities
of microplastics in public water supplies, including the quantities in the
water source that supplies the public water supply.
(b) Recommendations for next steps for addressing the effects and
presence of microplastics in public water supplies, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(i) The toxicity
limit of microplastics based on best available, peer-reviewed research or
toxicity studies and findings of the United States Environmental Protection
Agency.
(ii) A preliminary
risk assessment.
(iii) An overview of
findings and critical issues.
(iv) Recommendations
for continued and expanded monitoring and analysis and public protection.
(3) As used in this section:
(a) "Microplastics" means a solid plastic material that has at
least 3 dimensions, measures less than 5 millimeters in size, and may contain
chemical additives or other substances. Microplastics do not include naturally
occurring, non-chemically modified polymers.
(b) "Plastic" means synthetic material composed of organic
polymers produced by linking monomers through a chemical reaction and may
include chemical additives or other substances. Plastic does not include
naturally occurring, non-chemically modified polymers.