LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s governor says his administration will enact the country’s toughest lead standard for water in the wake of the lead contamination in Flint.
Rick Snyder announced the move Thursday, nearly a year after he first proposed it. He will lower Michigan’s “action level” from 15 parts per billion — the federal limit — to 10 ppb.
He says the change does not need legislative approval and can be done with administrative rules. But other proposals such as requiring homeowners to disclose lead pipes and plumbing to prospective buyers or renters would require legislation.
Snyder, who has apologized for his administration’s role in Flint’s water crisis, says the federal lead rule is “dumb and dangerous.”
Flint children were exposed to toxic lead after the city’s water source was switched and it was improperly treated.