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Saint Clair County health department proposes fluoride notification rule tied to EPA benchmark
Summary
The health department proposes a regulation that would use the EPA's fluoride maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) as a benchmark and require community water supplies to notify the county and receive an educational notice if they choose to continue fluoridation above that benchmark; no system would be forced to stop fluoridation under the draft.
The Saint Clair County Health Department held a public hearing on a draft regulation that would establish a health-protective standard for intentional fluoride addition to community water supplies and create a notification pathway for systems exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for fluoride. "The draft regulation establishes a health protective standard for fluoride addition together with a notification pathway for any community water supply that elects to continue fluoride addition above that standard," said Dr. Remington Nevan, medical director for the department.
Dr. Nevan told listeners the draft uses the EPA's MCLG as its benchmark and would apply to community water supplies located in whole or in part within Saint Clair County that deliver treated drinking water to county residents. He said the draft would not require immediate changes because county systems "currently operate at or near the U.S. Public Health Service recommended level of 0.7 milligrams per liter" while the EPA's current MCLG is 4 milligrams per liter.
Under the proposal, if the EPA lowers the MCLG in an updated assessment, an affected water system that conducts intentional fluoridation and has total fluoride concentrations above the revised MCLG would have 90 days to file written notice with the health department electing to continue fluoridation on a form provided by the department. A system that files within that 90-day period would be expressly exempt from enforcement under the county regulation for that fluoride addition and the department would prepare and publish an educational document summarizing the EPA-identified health risks at levels exceeding the revised MCLG.
Dr. Nevan said the draft is proposed under the Michigan Public Health Code as a supplemental exercise of the department's independent authority and does not prohibit community water fluoridation or order municipalities to add or stop adding fluoride. The proposal would operate alongside applicable federal and state requirements, including the federal maximum contaminant level and the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act.
The health department recorded the hearing to collect comments and will review all spoken and written submissions before transmitting a recommendation to the Saint Clair County Board of Commissioners, which has authority to approve or disapprove the regulation.
