EGLE officials tell appropriations subcommittee Michigan needs billions, more staff to speed lead-line replacements and inspections

Director Eric Oswald of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy on Earth Day that the state’s drinking-water program needs more staff and more funding to meet inspection and lead service line replacement obligations.

“We are safeguarding Michigan’s drinking water and environmental health,” Oswald said, summarizing the division’s mission and its cooperative approach with the systems it regulates. He told members the division oversees more than 10,000 public water supplies and is 98% staffed, but remains under-resourced to complete federally required sanitary surveys and other duties.

The division asked for additional full-time equivalents in the governor’s budget and highlighted an item in that proposal: a request for $50 million one-time and $30 million ongoing to help communities replace lead service lines and associated drinking-water infrastructure. Travis Boskell, deputy director with EGLE, said the…