Posted on September 28, 2020
LANSING — State lawmakers are exploring a new task force aimed at combating flooding and soil erosion, a problem that Michigan has been experiencing most recently with Great Lakes water levels hitting record heights this past spring and summer.
But flooding in Michigan isn’t a new problem, nor is it limited to the Great Lakes coastline, said bill sponsor, Rep. Jack O’Malley, R-Lake Ann.
“Flooding to Michigan is like hurricanes to Florida, earthquakes to California. They happen,” he said during a Sept. 23 committee hearing on House Bill 5485. “It’s not if, it’s when.”
The task force would have to, among other things, conduct a review of weather data as it relates to previous flooding events in Michigan and the response by lakeshore counties and communities, to address and mitigate flooding events and soil erosion. It would also have to work with residents and professionals from surrounding Great Lakes states to learn how they have responded to flooding events and soil erosion. And every year prepare a report for the state House and Senate with recommendations for legislation related to the environment, water, and natural resources.
The state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) isn’t on board with the plan. That’s in part because the administration opposes councils and boards created by the Legislature instead of the executive branch, said Travis Boeskool, department analyst for EGLE.
Director of Water Resources for EGLE, Teresa Seidel, said the department has been working and devoting resources to the issue, including issuing approximately 2,500 permits for work along the Great Lakes shoreline and more than 1,000 permits on inland waterways. On average, she said, the department issues about 500 permits for this type of work.
“[We] generally agree that better decision making and planning will be critical to ensuring that Michigan is better prepared in the next high water emergency,” she said. “So even though EGLE does not support the bill we’ll be working collaboratively with the stakeholders in the coming months and years to assure better outcomes when it does.”
Source: coastalnewstoday
