Environmental responsibility should not be a political issue

Thu, Mar 13, 2008

During my first term in the Legislature I have made protecting the environment one of my top priorities. It has long pained me that environmental responsibility has become such a political issue.

Thankfully, that has not been the case in West Michigan. Everyone who lives here knows how important our natural resources are to our community.

When I arrived in Lansing, I requested a seat on the House Great Lakes and the Environment Committee. I have worked to bring the results-oriented environmentalism that is so common in West Michigan to Lansing, where people do not seem to care as much about results as they do about political agendas. I have been able to accomplish this to some extent, but we have a long way to go.

Unfortunately, the politicization of environmental issues has been a road block to getting many important pieces of legislation passed — foremost among them the Great Lakes Compact, which is currently being debated in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces bordering the Great Lakes. The compact is a valuable piece of legislation that will help protect water resources by preventing the exporting of Great Lakes water to arid states in the South and Southwest.

The difficulty in moving this legislation stems from environmental special interest groups that have successfully attached their political agendas to the compact legislation. They have realized the compact is one of very few major environmental policies that could pass the Legislature with overwhelming support, so they continually attach their particular policy goals in attempts to piggy-back the compact legislation.

For example, instead of addressing only water exports from the Great Lakes basin, the compact has been amended to regulate how much well water a farmer can withdraw to water his crops. This is ridiculous because the water a farmer takes from the ground and sprays on a field will return back into the basin system! It certainly doesn't end up in Arizona or New Mexico.

The compact also has been amended to include strict regulations to the bottled water industry — in the form of increased Department of Environment Quality oversight, regulation and permit fee costs. These issues all have merit, but they should be debated at the state level as stand-alone issues, not as part of an important nonpartisan piece of legislation.

We have an opportunity to make great strides in protecting the Great Lakes. My fear is that as long as the Michigan House of Representatives' leadership continues to allow special interest groups to attach partisan political agendas to the compact, no progress will be made.

Despite all of these obstacles, I will continue to fight for increased protections for the Great Lakes and encourage my colleagues to join me.

Arlan Meekhof is the state representative for the 89th District which includes northwest Ottawa County.