Lansing - Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed two bills during Thursday's Earth Day celebration at the Capitol that will charge Michigan's polluters for dumping industrial and toxic wastes into the state's waterways.
The laws require dumpers to pay one-time or annual fees for the unloading of wastes into Michigan's rivers, lakes and groundwater.
One of the laws requires municipal dumpers to pay a minimum of $400 annually for surface water dumping in small communities and up to more than $200,000 in larger cities, such as Detroit. Fee levels are based on population and whether the polluters are municipal or industrial entities.
The $5.4 million provided by revenue from the fees will help the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality monitor and enforce current dumping restrictions. Previously, dumping permits were free and all enforcement funding came from the state budget.
"The idea is to shift some of the burden from the taxpayers to those who are making the discharges," said Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, who sponsored the bill.
Under the new law, polluters who dump within state limits but without a permit could face fines up to $25,000 per day of unauthorized discharging. Polluters who knowingly endanger the public health by dumping toxic wastes could face $1 million in fines or five years in jail. The second law signed by Granholm renewed permit fees for groundwater dumping that already were in effect.
Members of Clean Water Action, a group that supported both bills, carried "Thank you" signs as they listened to the governor speak.
"We want to educate the public on environmental policy regarding the Great Lakes," said Scott Neumann, the staff director for the group's East Lansing division. "As an environmental group, Earth Day is every day for us."
The event hosted more than 25 environmental organizations Thursday. Leaders from across the state spoke about water preservation, land use and urban sprawl - the focuses of the day's celebration.
"Land use is kind of a newer and subtler environmental problem," said Ben Stupka, the land programs assistant for the Michigan Environmental Council. "The effects of land use won't be seen for years. Unless we change the mentality that everyone's got their own little box, it's never going to change anything else."
Okemos resident Sally Corbin brought her son and nephew to hear Granholm and to learn about environmental issues. She stood by as her son held a snake at one of the informational booths.
"I wanted to support Earth Day," Corbin said. "We spend a lot of time up north on the Great Lakes. It was nice for our kids to see what's indigenous to Michigan."
