Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Large Withdrawals Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Work group forms around draft bill on large water withdrawals; council members raise questions about scope and consequences
Summary
A legislative work group discussing a draft concept to require new large consumptive users to draw from Great Lakes sources prompted council members to raise legal, economic and siting concerns and to ask that EGLE and the council provide technical briefings to legislators.
Council members reported they are participating in a legislative work group convened by a state senator to discuss draft concepts aimed at large consumptive water withdrawals. The draft concept discussed in the work group would require new consumptive users above a specified daily threshold (discussed in the work group as 2,000,000 gallons) to obtain water from Great Lakes sources or a municipal system connected to the Great Lakes, rather than from interior groundwater, and it would include provisions affecting who pays infrastructure upgrade costs for municipal systems.
Council members and staff emphasized several concerns and questions raised during the meeting:
• Scope and authority: EGLE staff said the department has not taken a formal position and noted the bill interacts with Part 327 permitting and raises questions about agency authorities.
• Unintended consequences and property rights: Several council members cautioned that blanket rules that restrict non‑Great‑Lakes withdrawals could unintentionally pick winners and losers and raise legal questions about property and water rights.
• Siting and planning: Multiple members said the discussion surfaces a broader planning question: should state and local economic development processes more explicitly consider long‑term water availability and carrying capacity when approving site selection for large facilities?
• Efficiency and alternatives: Members noted that some large users (data centers, battery plants, aquaculture) have a range of technological options for cooling and reuse, and that existing review criteria under Part 327 require consideration of conservation and alternatives; council members queried how economic feasibility would be weighed.
• Tribal and public engagement: Members said tribes and local stakeholders have concerns about large uses near reservations or other sensitive areas; those stakeholders should be engaged during policy development.
Participants in the council discussion urged more outreach to legislators and recommended the Water Use Advisory Council be available to brief committees of jurisdiction on how Part 327 currently works and what the council’s recommendations are. Several members offered to participate directly in legislative briefings.
