STATE OF WISCONSIN
Department of Safety and Professional Services
IN THE MATTER OF RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
DEPARTMENT OF
S
AFETY AND
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
ORDER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY
AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES,
ADOPTING
RULES
CLEARINGHOUSE RULE 14-056
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ORDER
An order of t
he Department of Safety and Professional Services
t
o
renumber SPS 384 Table 384.10 Rows 1 to 5, to renumber and amend SPS 384 Table 384.10 Row 6,
and to create
SPS 384 Table 384.10 Rows 1 and 9 and (Note),
relating to
water-treatment devices
.
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ANALYSIS
Statutes interpreted:
Statutory authority:
Explanation of agency authority:
Under section 145.02 (2), t
he
D
epartment
has
general supervision of all plumbing in conne
ction with all buildings in Wisconsin,
and
must
prescribe
and
enforce reasonable standards therefor
that
must
be uniform statewide so far as practicable
, in order
to safeguard the public health
.
Section
227.11 (2) (a)
authorizes the Department to promulgate rules interpreting any statute that is enforced or administered by the Department, if the rule is considered necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute.
Related statute or rule:
Chapter
SPS 382
contains
the Department’s
statewi
de requirements for
construction, installation
,
and maintenance
of all plumbing in conne
ction with all buildings in Wisconsin
.
Plain language analysis:
These rule revisions
discontinue the Department’s review of water treatment devices
that
(1)
are
certified
as complying with
a material-safety standard
by a certification body
which
is
accredited
by the American National Standards Institute,
and (2) are then used in compliance with that listing
.
Under current rules, water treatment devices – including water softeners – may need two separate approvals before being used in Wisconsin. The first approval is typically from a third party, such as NSF International, and is based on an industry standard. The second approval is under SPS chapter 384, which addresses situations where a plumbing product must receive approval from the Department. The Department has reason to believe that its secondary review is delaying some
users
of
water supply
well
s
from accessing plumbing products which would improve the safety of their drinking water. These products have been approved under industry standards and are available to consumers in other states but have not yet received approval from the Department.
Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulation:
M
aximum levels for contaminants in drinking water
are established in t
itle
40
of the
Code of Federal Regulations
,
p
art
141.
Individual states develop and apply health or plumbing codes to achieve compliance with those maximums.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states:
An I
nternet search of state-level rules for
water-treatment devices
in the adjacent states
yielded
the following
results
:
Illinois:
The Illinois Department of Public Health requires their approval of all devices in all plumbing systems
,
under
section 890.210 of subchapter r in chapter I of title 77 of the
Illinois Administrative Code. All plumbing devices must comply with an applicable referenced standard, and be listed by an accepted third-party agency.
The only referenced standard for w
ater softener and treatment systems
that was found
is
NSF/ANSI 44–2012,
in
section 890.Appendix A
, Table A.
Iowa:
The Iowa state plumbing
code
incorporates
the
2012 edition of the
Uniform Plumbing Code
®
(UPC)
, from the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
.
The 2012 UPC
requires compliance with and
incorporates
several
industry standards for water treatment devices
. The UPC
similarly
requires testi
ng and listing of these devices –
to demonstrate
compliance with these standards –
by a similarly accredited
,
third-party
certification body.
Michigan:
The Michigan state plumbing code incorporates the 2012 edition of the International Plumbing Code
®
(IPC), from the International Code Council
®
. The 2012 IPC
requires compliance with and
incorporates
several industry standards for water treatment devices
.
Minnesota:
No references to adopted standards for water treatment devices were found in the Minnesota state plumbing code.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies:
The
se
rule
revisions
were developed by
reviewing current industry and regulatory best practices, in conjunction with stakeholder input –
and
in relation to the Department’s corresponding statutory authority.
Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business or in preparation of economic impact
analysis
:
Because t
he
se
rule
revisions, in essence, simply discontinue a duplicative review by the Department, they are not expected to negatively affect small business.
Fiscal
e
stimate and
e
conomic
i
mpact
a
nalysis:
The Fiscal Estimate and Economic Impact Analysis is attached.
Effect on small business
:
These rule revisions do not have an economic impact on small businesses, as defined in sectio
n
227.114 (1)
of the Statutes.
The Department’s Regulatory Review Coordinator may be contacted by e-mail at
Tom.Engels@wisconsin.gov
, or by calling (608) 266-8608.
Agency contact person
:
Dan Smith
,
Rules Coordinator, at the
Department of Safety and Professional Services, Division of Policy Development,
1400 East Washington Avenue, Room 151,
P.O. Box
8366, Madison, WI, 53708-8366
;
or at
telephone (608) 26
1
-
4463
;
or
by
e-mail
at
Daniel2.Smith
@wi.gov
;
or by telecommunications relay services at 711.
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TEXT OF RULE
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SECTION 1.
SPS 384 Table 384.10 Rows 1 to 5 and 6 are renumbered SPS 384 Table 384.10 Rows 2 to 6 and 8, and
SPS 384 Table 384.10 Row 8, as renumbered, is amended to read:
SPS 384 Table 384.10
(Partial Table – title and column heading are provided for reference only.)
SUBMITTALS TO DEPARTMENT
|
Product Categories
|
8.
|
Water treatment devices
or bottled water vending machines
that make a contaminant reduction claim which is
not
listed
certified
by a
nationally recognized listing
agency as complying with
NSF Standard 44
certification body
accredited by
the American National Standards Institute
|
SECTION 2.
SPS 384 Table 384.10 Rows 1 and 9 and (Note) are created to read:
SPS 384 Table 384.10
(Partial Table – title and column heading are provided for reference only.)
SUBMITTALS TO DEPARTMENT
|
Product Categories
|
1.
|
Bot
tled-water vending machines that are not listed by a
certification body
accredited by
the American National Standards Institute
|
9.
|
Water treatment devices
that are not certified to a standard
which covers material safety,
by a
certification body
accredited by
the American National Standards Institute
.
|
Note:
More information about the certification bodies accredited by the
American National Standards Institute
(
ANSI), such as the National Sanitation Foundation, is available at the ANSI website at
www.ansi.org
; or at
1899 L Street, NW, 11th Floor
Washington, DC, 20036
; or at telephone
202.293.8020
.
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(END OF TEXT OF RULE)
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