Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Granting Police Powers to Great Lakes Water Authority

The House Rules Committee heard testimony on bills that would grant police powers to the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), a public authority that officials said provides drinking water to about 3,900,000 people (roughly 40% of Michigan's population) and wastewater conveyance and treatment to about 2,800,000 people (about 30%). Representative Carter introduced GLWA witnesses to explain the scope and security rationale behind the bills.

The substitute bills (introduced as HB 4352 and HB 4354 alongside companion measures HB 4353 and HB 4355) would give GLWA law-enforcement authority similar to powers already afforded some other public authorities. William Wolfson, deputy chief executive officer of the Great Lakes Water Authority, told the committee, “we grew out of the city of Detroit bankruptcy. So our assets are owned by the city of Detroit and leased to us in perpetuity,” and said that previous police powers tied to the system effectively were not present under the current structure.

Why it matters: GLWA officials said the system spans a large geographic footprint — from Monroe County north to Flint and Genesee County and including Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Saint Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties — and operates facilities 24 hours a day. Chief Barnett Jones, who leads GLWA security operations, said the authority handles hazardous chemicals at several sites and faces both external and “insider threat” risks. “To do this job, police powers to handle those investigations, to do those background checks, to do the necessary, research … the insider threat needs to be handled with the police powers that you could afford us,” Jones said.

GLWA witnesses described operational details and staffing plans. Wolfson said the authority conducts about 10,000 security patrols each month and employs roughly 83 staff overall. Chief Jones told the committee he estimated needing 25 sworn officers to meet the proposed responsibilities, and that those officers would be trained at the state academy and meet Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) requirements. Deputy Chief Walter Davis said GLWA needs the ability to conduct immediate background and vulnerability checks for personnel and contractors who are on GLWA property and noted the system borders Canadian jurisdictions at some sites.

Committee members asked how GLWA would promulgate rules and how oversight would work. Wolfson said any formal rules would follow a public process and noted GLWA’s six-member board, which includes members appointed by county executives and the governor; he said four board members would need to agree to promulgate formal rules. Committee members also questioned staffing and recruitment; Jones and GLWA witnesses said they expected to recruit internally and externally and would not seek tax dollars to pay for the proposed training.

The testimony focused on security and operational continuity; the committee took no final vote on the GLWA bills during the hearing portion recorded in the transcript.