EAST LANSING, Mich. — The City of East Lansing is issuing the following statement to clarify inaccurate information that was included in recent news coverage about the Ingham County Medical Care Facility construction project permitting and inspection process:
The fundamental errors with this project are the responsibility of both Ingham County and the contractor who agreed to do the work despite not being properly licensed. The project involved installation of medical gas, which is required to be performed under a licensed plumbing contractor. Instead, Ingham County hired a mechanical contractor that was not licensed to install medical gas. In March of 2018 the contractor requested the incorrect permit type (mechanical instead of plumbing) from Meridian Township and the subsequent inspection request was forwarded to the City of East Lansing in April of 2018 to perform a rough mechanical inspection. East Lansing performs all plumbing, mechanical and electrical inspections for Meridian Township.
Under the Michigan Building Code, the owner, in this case Ingham County Medical Care Facility, or its authorized agent, is responsible for securing the required (legal) permit for installation of medical gas. In May of 2018, Ingham County MCF was given the option by the City of East Lansing to either replace the system or have a licensed plumbing contractor secure a plumbing permit and take responsibility for installation of the system. The system is also required to be certified by a third party to ensure all medical gas standards are met.