Legislation establishing a statewide sanitary code was reported by the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee. Senate Bill 771, sponsored by Sen. Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), would create statewide standards for the management of onsite wastewater treatment systems to be regularly evaluated for the protection of public safety. The revisions approved this week would require systems that are at least 20 years old to be inspected every 10 years (once rules are approved) and address requirements for systems near surface water or high-risk erosion areas. Under the bill, current point of sale (POS) ordinances will remain in place. Once rules are promulgated (within three years of the bill being enacted) and if the local POS ordinance meets the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s minimum standards following rule promulgation, they will be able to continue with their current ordinance. Local jurisdictions with POS ordinances that are less stringent than the proposed statewide code would need to adjust to the new standards. Currently, Michigan is the only state that does not have a uniform standard for onsite wastewater treatment systems. It is estimated there are 1.3 million septic systems across the state that lack consistent inspection, and approximately 20-30% of those systems could result in some level of septic failure. SB 771 will next be considered by the full Senate.
Michigan Townships Association
