Communities sue over Michigan's tough lead rules for water

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jeff Karoub, Associated Press
Updated 6:00 pm CST, Tuesday, December 11, 2018

DETROIT (AP) — Local governments and utilities sued the state of Michigan Tuesday over its implementation of the nation's toughest drinking water rules for lead, saying they support strong action against public exposure to the toxin but find the new rules arbitrary and too costly for the communities left to foot the bill for the work to be done.

The Detroit-area coalition filed the suit against the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in the state's Court of Claims. They argue the changes made in June place a heavy financial burden on communities, infringe on private property rights and don't reach problematic fixtures inside residences.

Underground lead service lines connecting water mains to houses and other buildings would be replaced by 2040, unless a utility can show regulators it will take longer under a broader plan to repair and replace its water infrastructure. The so-called action level for lead would drop from 15 parts per billion — the federal limit — to 12 parts per billion in 2025.

. . .

State officials have said Flint's water crisis exposed problems with lead rules and Michigan needed to adopt changes, adding that local governments have years to prepare. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, whose administration has been blamed for Flint's emergency, has called the federal rules "dumb and dangerous."



Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Communities-sue-over-Michigan-s-tough-lead-rules-13458658.php

[UpInArms]

1. I wonder how many lives can be ruined by lead pipes in the next

22 years?

[llmart]

2. I'll tell you who is dumb and dangerous...

naw. I think you already know what I'm going to say.

The "one tough nerd" schtick suckered so many Michigan voters in. Snyder is a disgrace. No worries. He can go back to his million dollar mansion in a gated community in Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks and drink the expensive water he probably gets at his house, maybe Perrier. Maybe he even bathes in it.

Just one more example of why touting someone's "business acumen" as a reason to elect them to public office is a sham.

[Maxheader]

3. I've heard it too many times..

By people that understand the age and delicate state of this country's
utilities...from old buried gas lines to bridges falling apart...Bad water
lines aren't just in Michigan...