Michigan EGLE
Michigan environmental lab certification, EGLE and drinking water.
Who certifies your lab in Michigan, what the state rules require for performance evaluation samples and PFAS, what the program does not cover, and what auditors look for in your initial calibrations.
At a glance
How environmental lab certification works in Michigan.
Michigan is not a NELAP state. EGLE certifies drinking water laboratories under the state Safe Drinking Water Act and its own rules, and the program pages describe no certification for wastewater or other matrices.
Drinking water lab certification
- Program
- Laboratory Certification Program, Laboratory Services Section, Remediation and Redevelopment Division, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
- Legal basis
- Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, 1976 PA 399. MCL 325.1011 directs the department to review and certify laboratories testing water from public water supplies. Certification rules are at Mich. Admin. Code R 325.12701 and following.
- Who needs it
- All laboratories testing Michigan drinking water samples for regulatory and compliance monitoring. R 325.12701 requires compliance results to come from a department or EPA certified laboratory, except listed measurements such as pH, temperature and turbidity.
- Areas of certification
- Bacteriology, wet chemistry, organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry. Labs are also certified for PFAS analysis for Michigan’s PFAS maximum contaminant levels, using EPA method 537.1 or 533.
- Wastewater and other matrices
- The program certifies laboratories for the analysis of drinking water. Its program page does not describe certification for wastewater or other matrices.
- Out-of-state labs
- EGLE certifies out-of-state laboratories and publishes separate lists of certified out-of-state labs and out-of-state PFAS labs. EGLE letters to out-of-state labs have based certification on the lab’s home state drinking water certification, so confirm the route with the program.
- NELAP status
- Not a NELAP accreditation body as of October 2026. R 325.12701 states that the rules set forth requirements established by the federal act for laboratory certification.
The accreditation cycle
From application to annual PE samples.
The steps below summarize the EGLE program page and the certification rules. Under MCL 325.1011c a certification is valid for 3 years unless otherwise noted, and out-of-state certificates can carry shorter terms, so check the expiration date on your certificate.
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Apply by area and method
Choose the certification areas and methods your lab reports. EGLE reviews the applicant laboratory’s Quality Assurance Program Plan and Standard Operating Procedures.
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On-site audit
EGLE conducts an on-site audit of the facility and its analytical data.
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Annual PE samples
Analyze performance evaluation samples at least once per year by each method for which the lab wants certification. PFAS samples must come from a third party proficiency test provider approved by the department.
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Meet the rule’s limits
Results must fall within the acceptance limits in each rule’s tables, and certification can be suspended or revoked under R 325.12710.
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
Michigan has no separate calibration rule. Calibration requirements come from the EPA drinking water methods adopted by reference in R 325.10605 and the methods named in the certification rules, which also set the performance evaluation limits and detection limits your calibration has to support.
A range that brackets what you report
The lowest standard should sit at or below your reporting limit and the highest at or above the top concentration you report. Results outside the calibrated range need to be qualified.
Error at the low end, not r² alone
A correlation coefficient of 0.999 can still hide a low standard that back-calculates 30 percent off. Auditors look at relative error, especially at the lowest levels.
Records that rebuild the curve
Raw responses, the model and weighting used, any excluded points with the reason, and the verification that followed. An auditor should be able to reconstruct every initial calibration from the record.
Limits written into the certification rules
Michigan’s rules set fixed acceptance limits for performance evaluation samples, such as plus or minus 20 percent for VOCs at 0.010 mg/l or more and plus or minus 40 percent below it. They set a 0.0005 mg/l MDL for VOCs, lead and copper MDLs under 40 CFR part 136, appendix B where source water is composited, and a 2 ng/l minimum reporting limit for PFAS by EPA method 537.1. A curve that drifts at the low end shows up in exactly these results.
Source: Mich. Admin. Code R 325.12702, R 325.12705 and R 325.12708
EGLE reviews your Quality Assurance Program Plan and Standard Operating Procedures and audits analytical data on site. A calibration record that shows how each curve was built and accepted gives that review less to question.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for a Michigan assessment?
Tick what your lab could show an auditor today. Nothing you select is saved or sent anywhere.
6Checks to work through
Select each item your lab could show an auditor today.
A self-assessment to help you prepare, not a compliance determination.
Michigan specifics
PFAS certification is written into Michigan’s rules.
Michigan does not appear on TNI’s list of NELAP accreditation bodies. EGLE certifies drinking water laboratories under Act 399 and rules that describe themselves as setting forth the federal act’s requirements for laboratory certification. EGLE letters to out-of-state labs have granted reciprocal certification based on the home state’s drinking water certification, with an EGLE expiration date, so confirm the route with the program before relying on another certificate.
PFAS is where Michigan’s rules are most specific. R 325.12708 requires analysis by EPA method 537.1 or other methods the department approves, a minimum reporting limit of 2 ng/l, results reported to the nearest ng/l, and an annual performance evaluation sample from a department-approved provider, with each listed PFAS within plus or minus 30 percent of the gravimetric value. Michigan’s 2020 PFAS drinking water rules remain in litigation, so confirm their current status with EGLE.
The program covers drinking water only. Its page does not describe certification for wastewater, and EGLE’s NPDES compliance assistance page offers method guidance, such as quality control for low-level mercury under EPA Method 1631E, rather than a certification program. In the sources reviewed, the latest amendment noted for R 325.12701 and R 325.12708 is August 3, 2020, and EGLE’s out-of-state certified lab list was dated September 8, 2025, as of October 2026.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for a Michigan audit.
WLTR independently reviews the calibration your instrument software produced. Your analyst still makes the final call. What changes is that the evidence is complete, consistent across analysts, and ready before the auditor asks for it.
- Each analyte reviewed one at a time in the instrument software.
- The model and weighting are whatever the batch was processed with.
- r² is the number most people look at, even though it does not measure error at the low end.
- QA signs off without an independent check on the curve.
- Every analyte and every candidate model side by side in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard.
- Diagnostics run automatically and the best fit curve is identified, with the reasons recorded.
- Relative error at every level, including the lowest standard, shown on one screen.
- A traceable record your QA manager can review, sign and hand to an EGLE certification officer.
See how your own ICAL data looks when every analyte and model is laid out for review.
Questions
Michigan accreditation FAQs
Is Michigan a NELAP state?
No. As of October 2026, Michigan does not appear on TNI’s list of NELAP accreditation bodies. EGLE certifies drinking water laboratories under the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act and its own rules.
Who certifies drinking water labs in Michigan?
The Laboratory Certification Program in the Laboratory Services Section of EGLE’s Remediation and Redevelopment Division, under 1976 PA 399 and Mich. Admin. Code R 325.12701 and following.
Does Michigan certify wastewater labs?
The Laboratory Certification Program certifies laboratories for the analysis of drinking water, and its program page does not describe certification for wastewater or other matrices.
How often are performance evaluation samples required?
At least once per year by each method for which the lab wants certification, and once in each consecutive 12-month period for disinfection byproducts. PFAS samples must come from a department-approved third party provider.
Does Michigan have its own initial calibration rule?
No separate rule. R 325.10605 adopts the EPA methods in 40 CFR parts 141 and 143, and the certification rules set performance evaluation limits, MDLs and the 2 ng/l PFAS reporting limit that a calibration has to support.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- EGLE Laboratory Certification Program (opens in a new tab)
- EGLE certified out-of-state laboratories (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Michigan PFAS Response, drinking water laboratories (opens in a new tab)
- MCL 325.1011, review and certification of laboratories (opens in a new tab)
- R 325.12701, purpose (state-rules.com, secondary copy) (opens in a new tab)
- R 325.12705, VOC certification (state-rules.com, secondary copy) (opens in a new tab)
- R 325.12708, PFAS certification (state-rules.com, secondary copy) (opens in a new tab)
- TNI, NELAP recognized accreditation bodies (opens in a new tab)
- MCL 325.1011c, certification fees and duration (opens in a new tab)
This page summarizes public program information to help labs prepare. Requirements change, and the agency’s current rules and guidance always take precedence. WLTR is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your Michigan ICALs the way an auditor will.
Bring a recent initial calibration. We will walk you through every analyte and candidate model in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard, the best fit, and the record your QA manager would sign.
Request a demoHow the methodology works
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