May/June 2017

PE Report
PE Judgment Under Threat in Michigan, Ohio

Professional engineers have the expertise and judgment to determine the right types of materials to be used on a public works project. So why are there efforts in Michigan and Ohio to stand in their way?

NSPE has joined forces with the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers and the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers to stop legislation that would hinder the ability of PEs to use their expertise to determine the correct type of piping for public works projects.

Similar piping bills have been introduced in Indiana and South Carolina, with opposition from state societies. NSPE believes that professional engineers—not the state—should use their own sound judgment based on experience, expertise, qualifications, and the applied knowledge of engineering principles to determine the type of pipe that is used in any situation.

In Michigan, a bill (S.B. 157) states, “A public entity shall not enter into a contract involving a public works project that is financed in whole or in part by public funds unless…the pipe and piping materials to be used for the public works project meet or exceed the recognized standards for pipe and piping materials on similar projects as determined by the American Society for Testing and Materials or the American Water Works Association…and meet the performance specifications for the public works project.”

NSPE President Kodi Verhalen, P.E., Esq., F.NSPE, and MSPE President Michael Schwartz sent a joint letter to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Michigan Competitiveness to say enactment of the bill would prevent PEs from making the final decision on the appropriate piping material for a project. Professional engineers, they stated, are obligated to choose the right types of materials, in the interest of protecting the public safety.

In Ohio, a section of H.B. 121 states that “a public authority shall consider all piping materials for the construction, development, maintenance, rebuilding, improvement, repair, or operation of a water or waste water project that is funded in whole or in part with state money that meet the engineering specifications for the project as determined by the design engineer, who shall be a professional engineer.” The wording leaves open the possibility that a public authority could overrule a PE’s judgment.

In a letter to the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee, Verhalen asserted, “If H.B. 121 is enacted, professional engineers would not have the final decision on the selection of appropriate piping materials for projects. It is the professional engineer who protects citizens’ safety and the professional engineer who must make this decision.”