A pair of controversial House and Senate bills shifting major regulatory powers over Michigan’s water to state agencies could advance through the legislature’s lame duck session.
Michigan House Bill 5205 grants Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy sweeping water quality regulatory powers that were once foreclosed in a bipartisan deal in 2004.
A similar bill, SB 663, was introduced by Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northville, and passed the Senate last summer by a 20-18 party-line vote.
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Sponsored by Rep. Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, HB 5205 was referred for a second reading late last week by the House Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Committee.
Farmers fear the rule changes, and lack of accountability on EGLE’s part, extends regulatory authority beyond water quality.
“Our members prioritize transparency and insist that rules and standards be grounded in sound economic and scientific analysis,” Michigan Farm Bureau Legislative Counsel Ben Tirrell said in a statement. “This bill threatens those principles by granting EGLE nearly unchecked authority over Michigan’s water — and, by extension, everything that happens across its landscape.”
The legislation strikes out old language forbidding additional regulation by EGLE and the Department of Natural Resources, in essence moving an old boundary line established by former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republicans in the legislature at the time.
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The department shall enforce this part and may promulgate rules as it considers necessary to carry out its duties under this part. However, notwithstanding any rule-promulgation authority that is provided in this part, except for rules authorized under section 3112(6), the department shall not promulgate any additional rules under this part after December 31, 2006.
Per the law, authority would be transferred to state agencies, and accountability would remain out of citizens’ and legislators’ grasp. At the time of the deal, it was argued, authority over Michigan water and waterways belonged with the citizens of Michigan via citizens’ elected officials and accountability at the ballot box.
But fears over PFAS, known colloquially as “forever chemicals” have driven advocates’ urgency over the legislation. PFAS can contaminate water with downstream effects on agriculture, but can also be present in some agricultural fertilizers. However, EGLE already sets standards for biosolid fertilizers.
While advocates name PFAS in the need for restoration of regulatory authority to EGLE, it prompts the question whether the legislature should move to keep the public and Michigan waters safe by moving regulatory authority to unelected bureaucrats.
Meanwhile, states already must comply with the U.S. Clean Water Act, which can apply to groundwater in addition to surface water.
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out new standards for PFAS in drinking water — Michigan already had a lower required threshold for PFAS in public drinking water systems. In other words, a higher standard than the federal regulations.
The incoming Trump administration’s choices to lead the EPA, Lee Zeldin, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, have thus far drawn attention to removing obstacles to American energy independence and highlighting foreign farm ownership, respectively.
How a potentially new regulatory environment and developing priorities in the new administration play out with new leadership at the EPA remains to be determined, but the Michigan bills would change who enjoys regulatory authority: EGLE or the people of Michigan.