Tag: legislation

It’s time for a Water Trust Fund in Michigan

Published on December 11th, 2024 by - Blog Posts

Rep. Rachel Hood (D-81) and Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-14)

This month, Michigan House Rep. Rachel Hood (D-81) and Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-14) introduced important bills (HB 6273, 6274), based on FLOW’s model legislation, that would impose a $0.25 per gallon royalty on bottled drinking water extracted from Michigan’s publicly-held water resources (including groundwater), and create a Water Trust Fund. The Fund would use the royalties to address a number of water infrastructure and accessibility needs, including:

  • Help for low-income families struggling to pay water bills
  • Grants to local governments for lead service line replacement, contamination remediation, and emergency water supplies
  • Local public health department funding for water testing and implementation of septic system regulations

By recouping twenty-five cents per gallon from water bottling companies, the trust fund could generate between $250-300 million annually, and help address Michigan’s $1 billion in annual water infrastructure needs. This mechanism for funding water infrastructure and accessibility is a bold, forward-thinking solution, and affirms public protection of Michigan’s waters. But it is also not without precedent.

Forty years ago, in November 1984, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional protection for the state Natural Resources Trust Fund (NRTF.) This fund has become a model for other states.

Bankrolled by revenue from oil and gas drilling on state lands, the NRTF funds the purchase and development of recreational and environmentally significant lands for state and local governments. Because constitutional protection assures that these funds cannot be diverted by legislators to other purposes, Michigan voters can be confident that the NRTF will for decades continue to assure an increase in the amount of public land devoted to recreation and environmental protection.

(click to enlarge)

NRTF and its predecessor have enabled hundreds of projects worth more than $1.3 billion. There is an NRTF-supported project in every county of the state.

A tradition has developed that further strengthens the NRTF. When the five-member NRTF Board recommends projects to the Legislature for funding approval, lawmakers typically accept and approve the list without political gamesmanship.
Public lands will become increasingly important as the population grows and the climate changes. The need for clean, abundant public waters will also increase.

FLOW has been working with Rep. Hood, Rep. McKinney, and other lawmakers to address Michigan’s water infrastructure and accessibility needs with a 21st-century analog to the Natural Resources Trust Fund. FLOW authored this legislation to bring the colliding crises of water extraction, failing infrastructure, and water affordability under a comprehensive legal framework, and to recalibrate Michigan’s priorities on protecting its water and its people.

By establishing the Water Trust Fund, Michigan can lead the way and assure that our water remains public, safe, and affordable for all.

Keeping Water Public and Protected for All in the Great Lakes State

Published on March 9th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

Photo of children playing at Lake Michigan by Chelsea Bay Dennis.

Editor’s note: Sign up today for FLOW’s twice-monthly e-newsletter for updates on the advancement of these legislative recommendations and take action opportunities in support of keeping water public and protected.

Michigan’s 2023-2024 legislative session in Lansing is a chance to apply long-overdue solutions to the state’s biggest water problems, and FLOW has big ideas on how to ensure the waters of the Great Lakes State are healthy, public, and protected for all.

Capitol of Michigan (Photo credit: David Marvin via http://capitol.michigan.gov/)

Today FLOW is pleased to release our legislative agenda by sharing it directly with lawmakers in the Michigan House and Senate and publicizing it broadly with our partners and supporters to help us advance it. FLOW is calling on Michigan’s 102nd Legislature to:

  • Protect Michigan’s waters and public health from failing septic systems;
  • Hold polluters accountable; and
  • Create a public water trust fund with royalties on bottled water, with the money to be used to prevent shutoffs of household drinking water service and support other water protection needs.

During the last several decades, Michigan has lost its reputation as a leader in the country in water protection. Acting now on these priorities can begin restoring Michigan’s environment in ways that other states would envy.

1. Statewide Septic Code

Septic system: click to enlarge.

The Problem—Michigan is the only U.S. state without a uniform septic code governing the construction, maintenance, and inspection of septic systems. As a result, the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) estimates that roughly 330,000 failing septic systems are polluting ground and surface waters with human fecal microbial waste. In addition to harming our natural resources, this septic contamination poses a serious public health problem to the drinking water of nearly 4 million Michiganders who rely on private wells. 

The Solution—The keys to overcoming more than 30 years of legislative gridlock in passing a statewide septic code are establishing a reasonable inspection schedule, ensuring county health departments have sufficient resources to administer inspections, and providing financial assistance to septic owners who may not be able to afford the cost of septic repairs or replacements.

2. Polluter Accountability Act

Photo by Chelsea Bay Dennis.

The Problem—Over the last three decades, the Michigan Legislature has enacted polluter entitlement laws that prevent state agencies from adequately protecting water resources. These destructive legislative actions include:

Michigan now has 24,000 known contaminated sites, including thousands of known and unknown sources of groundwater and surface water contamination. More than half are “orphaned” sites with no known responsible party, resulting in the state being responsible for assessing and remediating these sites without adequate funding. 

The Solution—The answer is to pass legislation that restores polluter pay, limits the use of “institutional controls” as a cleanup option unless other remedial alternatives would increase exposure to the contaminants at issue, and eliminates Michigan’s “no stricter than federal” law.

3. Michigan Water Trust Fund Act

The Problem—Bottled water plants in Michigan make hundreds of millions of dollars each year selling waters of the state without providing a significant benefit to Michiganders. Michigan has the right and obligation to secure greater benefits for its citizens based on the sale of a publicly owned natural resource. This is especially true when a large and increasing number of Michiganders in both urban and rural communities cannot afford to pay their water bills and face the prospect of water shutoffs.

Photo: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Solution—The solution is to enact a bill that expressly affirms public ownership of Michigan’s ground and surface waters, create a licensing system for bottled water facilities that generates state revenue through a royalty fee, and channel this revenue into a public trust fund that helps put an end to water shutoffs.

Stay Tuned for Legislative Updates

FLOW will keep you updated on the advancement of these legislative recommendations and provide opportunities to take action in support of keeping water public and protected. Be sure to sign up here for FLOW’s twice-monthly e-newsletter for news, event announcements, and more related to our shared efforts to protect the Great Lakes and groundwater and ensure access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.