State House and Senate leaders are uneasy about the governor’s proposed changes to the state Lead and Copper Rule.
Governor Rick Snyder is trying to make the state’s regulations stricter than the federal requirements. He wants to lower the safe limit from 15 parts per billion to 10.
Snyder previously called the federal Lead and Copper Rule, “dumb and dangerous.” Now Snyder spokesperson Ari Adler says the governor is working with the legislature to make sure Michigan’s form of the rule is safer than the federal rule.
“The bottom line in all of this is how do we make our water systems in Michigan as safe as possible,” Adler said. “It’s a national problem that’s occurring and we’re trying to be a model state in how to deal with it.”
But Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof is cool to the idea of changing the standard. Meekhof said the current standard is fine – it’s the testing that caused problems.
“Lowering it actually, potentially, challenges a lot of community water systems and other things with having to change at a very, very large expense,” he said. “So that’s, that’s where we’re having the rub right now.”
Speaker of the House Tom Leonard has also expressed concerns, particularly how it will impact local communities and governments.
Adler said all this is part of working in Lansing.
“Sometimes people think maybe we don’t agree on something and mean that’s how the process works,” he said. “People propose ideas, either through the governor’s office or the legislature has ideas and then we work through our differences and reach a compromise on the best possible plan.”
