Written by Forrest Wall, CAE, Staff Vice Presidentand Industry Relations
Bill Introduced to Require Lead Service Line Notification
New legislation in the Michigan House of Representatives would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require resident notification of known lead service lines. House Bill 4750, introduced in June, would require that local water departments annually notify customers if their residence is served by a lead service line. In cases where the residence is a rental property, the property owner would then need to disclose the existence of the lead service line to the tenant either via the rental agreement or in a separate disclosure statement. The legislation also contains a penalty provision for knowingly violating the law. That provision provides for a civil infraction with a potential fine not to exceed $500 for multifamily rental property.
Stormwater Management Legislation Introduced
An effort to provide a statewide framework for local government stormwater management programs has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives. House Bill 4691 mirrors previous efforts in recent legislative sessions to create what would be called the Stormwater Utility Act. As proposed, the legislation would regulate the creation of local stormwater management utilities and the adoption and content of the local ordinances supporting the utilities. The act would provide for the establishment and collection of fees to support the operation, maintenance, planning, construction and financing of the local stormwater system. Fees could include both one-time connection charges for new developments as well as a use fee to property owners. Additionally, the legislation compels local utilities to provide for reduction or elimination of fees to property owners who can demonstrate that improvements made to the property have reduced or eliminated stormwater entering the system. Finally, the bill mandates a fee appeal process be included in the local stormwater utility ordinance.