FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: David
Holtz, Michigan Director
July 31, 2006
517-203-0754
(office)
313-300-4454 (cell)
Chris De Witt /
Granholm Campaign
517-485-5100 (office)
517-881-4784 (cell)
Clean Water Action Endorses
Granholm
Governor’s Plan Grows Economy And Protects Quality of Life
LANSING
– Clean Water Action, a nonprofit organization promoting the protection
of
water resources, announced today its endorsement of Gov. Jennifer
Granholm for reelection.
“Governor Granholm is fighting to
protect our families from the harmful
effects of pollution, while preserving Michigan’s natural resources for our
children,” Holtz said. “She has made sure that our Great Lakes are not sold to the highest
bidder or used as a toxic dumping ground.”
In
recognition of the Governor’s commitment to protecting Michigan’s
waterways, Clean Water Action honored her with their 2005 Great Lakes
Guardian
Award, the organization’s top environmental honor. Earlier
this year, the Governor signed
legislation protecting the Great Lakes
from large-scale diversions and withdrawals.
As Governor, she prohibited open water disposal of contaminated
dredge
sediments containing toxic
substances such as mercury, dioxin,
or PCB
in
the Great Lakes. She also implemented the first laws
regulating the discharge of ballast water from ocean-bound ships, and
required
all ocean vessels that dock in Michigan
have permits to protect the Lakes against non-native aquatic specimens.
“Our water is our most precious natural resource,”
Granholm said. “Not only do the Great Lakes
fuel our
economy and anchor our tourism industry, the Great Lakes
are integral to the supreme quality of life we enjoy as Michiganians.”
Governor
Granholm has been tough on polluters and has fought to stop the dumping
of
Canadian trash in Michigan landfills. She signed
legislation that
will help reduce the amount of trash Michigan is currently being forced to
take, and
instituted a new inspection program for Canadian trash to ensure trash
coming
into Michigan is not illegal or dangerous.
“Governor
Granholm has a comprehensive plan to grow Michigan’s economy without sacrificing
the
natural resources that make this state a great place to live,” Holtz
said. “Clean Water Action does not trust Dick
DeVos to be a good steward of Michigan’s environment.
He has given thousands of dollars to and
served on the board of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a group
which
has—among other things—advocated drilling for gas and oil under the Great Lakes.”
DeVos
joined the board of the Mackinac Center in 1990, and has contributed
more than
$100,000 in support of its extremist programs. The Center, billed by
the media
as a “conservative think tank” located in Midland, Mich., has a record of opposing the
regulation
of harmful emissions like mercury, and has called energy independence
proposals
that promote alternative energy a “waste of time.” The Center has also
opposed
limiting trash imported from Canada, and attacked strong federal
standards
limiting the amount of arsenic in public drinking water supplies,
saying the
standards are based on “junk science.”
In
contrast, Governor Granholm has a strong record of protecting families
and the
environment from harmful chemicals. She
signed legislation to help local
communities develop
pollution prevention projects by making it easier for them to access nearly
$900 million in low-interest loans. She renewed groundwater permit fees, allowing
the Department of Environmental Quality to issue permits and complete
inspections for businesses that discharge treated waters into
groundwater
systems. The Governor also called for all power plants to reduce
mercury
emissions by 90 percent by 2015.
Governor
Granholm has
been a leader in the development of renewable energy. Her
$2 billion 21st Century Jobs
Fund will attract growing, high-tech jobs that will not be outsourced,
including companies investing in alternative energy. She recently signed a package of
legislation that
will, for the first time, create incentives for consumers who buy
alternative
fuel vehicles and service stations that make ethanol and biodiesel
available to
their customers.
“Michigan put the world on wheels,”
said
Granholm. “We must also be the state
that develops alternative forms of energy to power our vehicles and end
our
dependence on foreign oil.”
Clean
Water Action is a national citizens' organization working for clean,
safe and
affordable water, prevention of health-threatening pollution, creation
of
environmentally safe jobs
and businesses
and empowerment of people to make democracy work. Clean Water Action,
with 177,000 Michigan members, has offices in Clinton Township, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and East Lansing.
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