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State Legislation

You can help insure that Michigan has good legislation to help protect our valuable water resources. Make your voice heard by taking action on all of the pending bills.

Contact your State Senator and State Representative.

The text and progress of the bills can be accessed at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/

SB 1075 – A bill to reorganize state agencies, require reporting to the legislature and prohibit any state agency from promulgating rules more stringent than federal regulations unless specifically authorized under Michigan law.

OPPOSE

The entire point of having a state law is so that we can determine what is best for our environment and citizens. Michigan is the mitten – the Great Lakes State – this makes Michigan unique. We are surrounded by the Great Lakes, with a very unique and special hydrology that also creates our treasured inland lakes and streams. Michigan regulators should have the ability to be Michigan-specific in their implementation of our environmental programs. States have the right to be more protective than the federal government, whose laws typically are much more general because they have to provide guidance to a large and extremely geographically diverse nation. States need to have a degree of flexibility in the selection of policies and in procedures that are best suited to the needs of the state, provided that basic federal requirements are met. This becomes even more important when we are talking about our waterways and what Michigan specifically needs to adequately protect our natural resources which serve as the foundation of our economy. Any policy that includes “no more stringent” or “not more restrictive” only serves to ties the hands of the state and endanger the health of the environment and citizens. Subsequently, any such language is unacceptable.

HB 5368 – A bill to prohibit the use of fertilizer containing phosphorus unless it use is shown necessary through use of a soil test.

SUPPORT

Nutrients like phosphorus—a common ingredient in lawn fertilizer—can degrade Michigan’s inland lakes and water resources. Plants don’t absorb more phosphorus than they can use, and excess phosphorus from lawns can wash directly into our lakes and streams, causing smelly algae blooms, fish kills, and declining water quality. Lakes and rivers can be extremely sensitive to small amounts of phosphorus runoff. It takes 20 parts per million (ppm) of soil phosphorus to grow healthy turf; 25 parts per billion (a quantity 1000 times smaller) can promote excessive algae growth in lakes. Preventing even small amounts of phosphorus from getting into the water can make a big difference.

Michigan lawns and soils already contain adequate—and often excessive—amounts of phosphorus. Restricting phosphorus in lawn fertilizer is one step to help address one of Michigan’s water quality problems, polluted runoff. A statewide policy would save local governments the duplicative costs of developing independent ordinances and ensure consistency across the state for consumers, retailers, and suppliers. In addition, many undesirable (and expensive to manage) invasive species such as Eurasian water milfoil, curly leaf pondweed, and carp prefer nutrient rich waters. While not a prevention strategy unto itself, minimizing the amount of nutrients entering our waters may make conditions less ideal for some invasive species.

Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council – 426 Bay Street, Petoskey, MI 49770
Phone: 231-347-1181 Fax: 231-347-5928 www.watershedcouncil.org