LANSING – House Democrats today put the finishing touches on a landmark water protection package that will keep Michigan's most precious natural resource here where it belongs. With today's action, all components of the bipartisan, comprehensive "Great Waters, Great Michigan" plan have now been sent to the desk of Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm to be signed into law.
"Today's action will ensure that the Great Lakes and Michigan's inland lakes and streams will remain protected for generations to come," said State Representative Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor), Chair of the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee. "Environmental protection is not only critical to our citizens' health and that of our natural resources, but also to that of our three biggest industries that rely on the Great Lakes – manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. By protecting the waters that define us, we are protecting our jobs, our farms and the very features that make Michigan a special and unique place to live."
The parts of the "Great Waters, Great Michigan plan" that passed today will:
- Require a review of water withdrawals of 1 million gallons per day or more to ensure sensitive water resources are protected.
- Protect Michigan's unique and popular trout streams by preventing withdrawals that would cause more than a 3 percent reduction in the stream's thriving fish population.
- Encourage water planning and water conservation among local governments.
- Give water users until Feb. 1, 2009, to adjust water users to new standards established by the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" package.
- Promote water conservation practices by large-quantity water users.
- Implement a site-specific review process to quickly review water withdrawal proposals not initially approved by the new water withdrawal assessment tool included in the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" package.
Parts of the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" plan that passed earlier this week will ban the diversion of water outside the Great Lakes basin by ratifying the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact; toughen water bottling standards by lowering the threshold that triggers an environmental review of withdrawals from 250,000 gallons per day to 200,000 gallons per day; and require the use of an online science-based water withdrawal assessment tool for new large-scale water withdrawals, to determine if they will harm our natural resources.
The package will also raise the fines for water-use violations from a maximum of $5,000 per day to $10,000 per day; provide stronger environmental review provisions for municipal water suppliers to protect sensitive water resources; and establish a Water Conservation Advisory Council that will make recommendations to ensure sound water policies are enacted in Michigan.
"This all-encompassing plan is the result of years of hard work and bipartisan support, and is a historic move in the right direction," said State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon). "This is a monumental agreement for residents of the Great Lakes State and will protect thousands of jobs and the special way of life we enjoy here in Michigan."