Legislation would raid bond money intended to keep sewage out of the Great Lakes

Funds originally approved by voters in 2002 to keep sewage out of the Great Lakes would be used to bail out polluters who have walked away from contaminated brownfield sites, under a measure before the Michigan Legislature.

Members of A Better Michigan Future coalition --- which include MIchigan LCV,  Clean Water Action, Michigan Environmental Council, the Sierra Club and the Ecology Center --- oppose the measure and support an alternate method of funding brownfield cleanups.

Our four-point priority plan for addressing budget shortfalls calls for closing tax loopholes and giveaways, auditing government contracts, modernizing the state's sales tax and implementing a graduated income tax.

"Using the bond money to clean up the Great Lakes can bring billions of dollars in revenue to our state in coming years," said Gayle Miller of the Sierra Club's Michigan Chapter. "And it would leave polluters, not citizens, as the responsible parties for cleaning their own messes."

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment in 2008 stated that more than 40 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage are released annually into Michigan's waterways.

“It's appalling how the Legislature has failed to address the shocking amount of raw sewage that threatens public health,” said Cyndi Roper of Clean Water Action. “Redirecting this money away from its clean water mission is irresponsible.”

The bond money raid was the subject of a hearing Wednesday before the Michigan Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee.

It's important that we protect our Great Lakes --- home to multi-billion dollar boating, fishing, and tourism industries. In order to do so, we must encourage our legislators to hold polluters responsible for cleaning their own messes.

--- Photo via the Kalamazoo Gazette