LANSING – Legislation that supporters say will help protect Michigan waters while still allowing economic use, while critics contend they do not go far enough are slated to go to the full Senate this week.
Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) confirmed Monday that she plans to vote out SB 727 , SB 859 and SB 860 from the Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee she chairs when the panel meets at 1 p.m., Wednesday.
Minor changes need to be made to the package, the main bill of which is SB 860, Ms. Birkholz said.
The legislation is geared towards assuring that 75 percent of the state’s waters are protected from diversions and that permits are required for any large diversions, those drawing more than 2 million gallons of water a day from a resource.
Birkholz also said the legislation is drafted in such a way that will allow greater flexibility for changes in water protection that would be called for by changes in science.
Critics charge the bills do not go far enough to protect local water resources, and that provisions should be included to allow for local review of diversions.
But Birkholz worried that putting more restrictions in place could engender the opposition of property rights groups, and delay action on the bills.
There was no schedule at this point on when the full Senate would act on the bills, Birkholz said.
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