The Michigan Land Use Institute, a source of some of the best reporting on Great Lakes and land use issues in the region, has a "Superior" story on why Michigan politics is thwarting a sensible water conservation policy and endangering the Great Lakes. It says in part:
"Influential lobbying groups such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Farm Bureau, the Michigan Forest Products Council, and the Michigan Manufacturers Association say they support stronger legal protections against bulk diversions of Great Lakes water to thirsty states and nations outside the basin. But these organizations, joined by several smaller business associations, generally view proposals to regulate water withdrawals that stay within the basin as unnecessary and burdensome threats to future investments and growth that will reduce the state’s competitive edge in the global economy. Their active lobbying on the issue has stalled a series of water policy reforms within the state Legislature.
“We’re not in a time when new regulations are readily accepted,” said Ben Kudwa, the executive director of the Michigan Potato Industry Commission...
...According to Ms. Klein, who until recently taught environmental policy at Michigan State University, it is typical for large water users to at first oppose attempts to change traditional water laws. But, Ms. Klein said, industrialists, farmers, and other stakeholders who rely on stable access to water resources typically find that comprehensive water use standards can work to their advantage because they help clarify the rules of the economic development game, guarantee water rights, and secure business investments."
If these special interests don't get their ostrich heads out of the water, Michigan and the Lakes are going to be privatized and sold. And then where will that leave Michigan industry and business?
http://mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16765
Posted by Dave at November 5, 2004 06:05 PM