by Melissa DeSimone, MLSA Executive Director
Written on September 30th (10 hours before the budget deadline)
I waited as long as I could to write this, so we could give you the full picture of what we’re dealing with, and we want you to know that we have been watching the ups and downs of the budget negotiations for months now. Here at Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, our concerns during budget negotiations mostly lie with funding for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), as well as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The bottom line for our mission will always be to support funding for programs and partners that protect our inland waterways – we can’t do it alone, you know?
Even now, hours before the deadline to vote, we do not know exactly what has been negotiated or what legislators are exactly voting on. Earlier this month, we understood that there was a proposal to cut the EGLE budget by $200 million and the DNR budget by $53 million. This would, of course, cut staff and programming. EGLE Director Phil Roos identified the following concerns that would be problematic for Michigan’s lakes and streams:
- Severe delays in permit reviews.
- Elimination of environmental emergency response capacity.
- Shutdown of all Great Lakes and inland water protection efforts.
See what I mean? These things alone impact MLSA and riparians everywhere in the state. Michigan Environmental Council members are also watching this closely, members with missions that will be impacted on other fronts like air quality and clean drinking water, many more very important programs that just happen to not be the focus of MLSA, particularly, but are certainly important to everyone as human beings.
When you read this, hopefully, we are finally able to see an approved budget that ensures the protection of our beautiful waterways has not been compromised. What happens if we go a year without environmental emergency response or permit reviews? Do we know what the shutdown of inland water protection efforts will look like?
Are MLSA and non-government partners strong enough and equipped to pick up the pieces and fill the gaps? Are your lake associations, river and watershed groups, or conservation districts? …are you?