LANSING – State Representative Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) today voted for a bold plan that will protect the Great Lakes, Michigan's 11,000 inland lakes and streams and the good-paying jobs that they generate, maintaining Michigan's status as a top destination for boaters, anglers and other tourists.
"Michigan is defined by our Great Lakes and other waterways, which is why this plan to protect them is so important," Corriveau said. "Thousands of our residents who work in tourism, agriculture and manufacturing rely on health Great Lakes water for their livelihoods. This plan will help protect those jobs and protect Michigan's natural heritage."
The parts of the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" plan that passed today will:
Allow local governments to request a review from the Department of Environmental Quality if they feel a water withdrawal may harm other water users.
Promote water conservation practices by large-quantity water users, such as municipalities and utilities.
Establish a Water Conservation Advisory Council that will make recommendations to ensure sound water policies are enacted in Michigan.
Protect Michigan's unique and popular trout streams by preventing withdrawals that would cause more than a 1 percent reduction in the stream's thriving fish population.
Other parts of the package passed by the House last week will effectively 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 raise the fines for water-use violations from a maximum of $5,000 per day to $10,000 per day.
"Hunting, fishing and boating pump billions of dollars into our economy every year," Corriveau said. "By protecting our waters, we are working to create jobs and boost our economy. This is the right move for Michigan."