This was released today by the governor.
Granholm Issues
Executive Directive Placing
Moratorium on Bottled Water Permits
Nestle
Issued Limited Permit in Evart
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M.
Granholm today issued an executive directive that places a moratorium
on
permits and approvals for new or increased bottled water operations in Michigan, until such
time as the Legislature passes comprehensive water withdrawal
legislation. The moratorium is designed to provide the state the
opportunity to fully study the appropriateness and the impact water
bottling
facilities have on Michigan’s
water resources.
“Michigan is blessed to be
surrounded by 20
percent of the world’s fresh water supply, and we must not be reckless
in
protecting it,” Granholm said. “As stewards of the Great Lakes, we must
ensure these facilities are not causing long term harm to our most
precious
natural resource.”
The directive calls on the Legislature to enact comprehensive water
withdrawal
legislation as outlined in the Governor’s proposed Water Legacy Act and
to give definition to what constitutes a diversion of Great Lakes
water. The act would give the state the necessary tools to effectively
evaluate proposals for the bottling of water and monitor these
operations.
“We need a comprehensive framework for managing the withdrawal of our Great Lakes
water,” Granholm said. “We need to protect our water and
ensure that it can be used responsibly.”
The moratorium applies only to new permit applications and does not
affect
existing bottled water operations or facilities with permits pending
before the
state. It does not apply if the bottled water operator is willing to
certify that they will distribute only within the Great Lakes Basin.
The debate on this issue escalated in recent months when the City of Evart entered
into an agreement with Nestle Waters North America for the sale of
water from
the city’s municipal water system to Nestle for bottling. The
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today issued a permit to
Nestle that
contains special conditions requiring them to certify – every three
months – that spring water from the Evart plant is distributed only
within the Great Lakes Basin.
“The permit issued to Nestle allows the company to use our state’s
resources, but ensures that they will be used responsibly,” said DEQ
Director Steven E. Chester. “The Legislature now must take action
to provide us with the needed path forward on this important public
policy
issue.”
# # #
--
David Holtz
Michigan Director
Clean Water Action
Clean Water Fund
517-203-0754 East Lansing
313-300-4454 cell
http://www.cleanwateraction.org/mi/index.htm
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