LANSING – Against the backdrop of worsening droughts in the country's Western and Southeastern regions – and with drought conditions recently spreading to the Mid-Atlantic – State Representative Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) and other members of the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee will begin committee hearings as early as next week on Democrats' comprehensive plan that provides long-term protection to Great Lakes waters.
"With the Great Lakes, Michigan is the envy of other states – and that means we must be especially vigilant in protecting our most precious resource, especially at a time when other regions are experiencing droughts and looking for quick and easy ways to siphon water from other sources," Miller said. "As the Great Lakes State, what we cherish the most has never been more at risk. The plan that my Democratic colleagues and I unveiled will enact tough measures to protect our water from being exploited by other states and countries."
In October, presidential candidate Bill Richardson caused a stir when he told the Las Vegas Sun during a campaign stop in Nevada that he wanted a national water policy allowing water-rich northern states like Michigan to send our most precious resource to thirsty states out west. In the face of public outcry over his statement, Richardson backed down, and his press secretary told the Detroit Free Press on Oct. 15 that Richardson "in no way proposes federal transfers of water from one region of the nation to the other."
The National Climate Data Center reports that the drought parching much of the West and Southeast spread into the Mid-Atlantic area in September, and by the end of that month, about 43 percent of the 48 contiguous states were in moderate to extreme drought, according to an Oct. 16 Associated Press article.
The Great Lakes and Environment Committee is scheduled to convene Nov. 7.
The Democratic package first unveiled this summer:
- Ratifies the Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact, which will ban diversions of water outside of the Great Lakes Basin.
- Toughens standards for companies that try to bottle up and sell off Great Lakes and Michigan water for profit.
- Requires large-scale water users such as municipalities, utilities and others to implement water conservation practices.
- Gives the public additional tools to hold companies accountable when they violate water protection laws, and increases the maximum civil fine from $1,000 to $10,000 for most water use violations.