Water supply: systems; mobile home park water delivery systems; regulate. Amends secs. 2, 3 & 15 of 1976 PA 399 (MCL 325.1002, et seq.).
SB0046 amends Michigan’s Safe Drinking Water Act to update definitions and enforcement provisions related to public water supplies, with a particular focus on water delivery systems in mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks. The bill revises statutory terms such as “department,” “director,” “public water supply,” “waterworks system,” and related concepts to reflect current agency naming and to clarify that certain customer-owned piping systems are not treated the same as full waterworks systems. It also adds or clarifies language around customer site piping, service connections, water mains, and the scope of the department’s authority.
The bill expands and clarifies the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s authority to inspect, investigate complaints, issue orders, and take emergency action when a waterworks system or customer site piping may threaten public health or fail to meet state drinking water standards. It specifically authorizes entry onto customer-site piping systems in mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks to investigate complaints about water quality at the point it reaches a mobile home, and it allows the department to require operational changes, treatment, structural changes, added capacity, or limits on expansion or water use until deficiencies are corrected.
The bill would amend sections 2, 3, and 15 of 1976 PA 399, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and would primarily affect public water suppliers, owners of customer site piping in mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks, and the state environmental regulator. It updates statutory definitions and strengthens the department’s enforcement tools by expressly covering customer site piping in certain mobile home settings, clarifying inspection authority, and preserving the department’s ability to issue binding orders and emergency orders to protect public health. In practical terms, it could subject more water-delivery arrangements in mobile home parks to state oversight and compliance requirements under the act.
The available voting history suggests the bill received generally favorable support, though not unanimous. It was reported favorably out of committee by an 8-1 vote and later passed the Senate on third reading by a 28-9 vote. No committee transcripts were provided, so the record shows support for the bill’s public-health and regulatory goals, but also some minority opposition at both committee and floor stages.
The main point of contention appears to be the bill’s expansion of state regulatory authority over water systems in mobile home parks and seasonal mobile home parks, especially where the system consists solely of customer site piping. Supporters likely view the changes as necessary to protect residents and ensure safe drinking water, while opponents may be concerned about increased compliance burdens, property-owner obligations, and the reach of state inspection and enforcement powers into customer-owned infrastructure. The 9 Senate nays indicate that some legislators objected to either the scope of regulation, the enforcement mechanisms, or the practical impact on mobile home park operators and water suppliers.