LANSING, Mich. — A budget supplemental bill that would invest over $2.5 billion to preserve and protect Michigan’s water quality, infrastructure and the environment received testimony during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
“Ensuring Michiganders have access to clean water and protecting our environment — especially our Great Lakes — have always been top priorities of mine,” said Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-Newaygo. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to invest billions of federal funding in our state’s water infrastructure to make transformational improvements that will last generations.”
Senate Bill 565 would provide $600 million in a grant program for the replacement of lead pipes across the state, $700 million to upgrade local drinking water and wastewater facilities and $85 million to ensure students have access to safe water by installing filtered water stations inside schools. The plan also addresses the harmful impacts of PFAS chemicals and would dedicate $100 million in grants to remove the chemicals from “orphaned sites.”
Bumstead’s water plan would also make hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding available to:
- Repair dams in critical condition to mitigate and avoid costly catastrophes like what happened in Midland last year;
- Assist communities with upgrading and replacing water treatment infrastructure and homeowners to replace failing septic systems;
- Conduct surface water monitoring, including for wetland mitigation, and
- To implement recommendations included in the Groundwater Use Advisory Council Report.
“This is an opportunity to come together as Michiganders to take care of our clean drinking water, dams in critical condition, and to protect the environment,” Bumstead said. “Now is the time to take advantage of this one-time federal funding to build a cleaner, safer Michigan.”
The bill remains before the committee for further consideration.
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