SENATE BILL No. 876

 

 

November 9, 2005, Introduced by Senator BIRKHOLZ 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 1998 PA 56.

 

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 environmental impact of the proposed

 

system as provided in subsection (3). 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  which  that it determines will not satisfactorily provide

 

for the protection of the public health or, if applicable, the

 

environment as provided in subsection (3). 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) For a proposed waterworks system that will provide new or

 

increased withdrawal capacity of more than 2,000,000 gallons of

 

water per day, the department shall evaluate whether the proposed

 

system will cause adverse resource impacts. The department shall

 

reject the plans and specifications for a proposed waterworks

 

system if it determines that the proposed system will cause adverse


 

resource impacts unless the department determines that there is no

 

other reasonable alternative location for the withdrawal and

 

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.

 

     (4)  (3)  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  of the same  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  thereto  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.

 

     (5)  (4)  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.

 

     (6) As used in this section, the terms "adverse resource

 

impact" and "new or increased withdrawal capacity" mean those terms

 

as they are defined in section 32701 of the natural resources and

 

environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.32701.

 

     Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless Senate Bill No. 850 of the 93rd Legislature is enacted into

 

law.