After Flint, Michigan toughened lead rules. Now water utilities are suing.
LANSING — Michigan last June adopted the nation’s strictest rule for lead in drinking water, including requiring utilities to replace all of the state’s roughly 500,000 lead service pipes within 20 years.
Public health advocates applauded then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s move as an important step toward protecting Michigan’s drinking water after his administration’s actions and inactions triggered Flint’s lead exposure crisis.
But six months later, the fate of the regulation is anything but certain.
Detroit-area water providers are trying to thwart the rule in the Michigan Court of Claims. Filed in mid-December, their lawsuit calls new requirements under the rule “arbitrary,” too costly and ineffective for addressing Michigan’s most serious lead threats.
The plaintiffs include the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash, the Great Lakes Water Authority and the City of Livonia. The coalition provides water to more than half of Michigan’s population.
Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/after-flint-michigan-toughened-lead-rules-now-water-utilities-are-suing
