You can read the full mLive report about the issue and the response from lawmakers here, “Lawmakers shocked at severity of Kalamazoo River sediment crisis“.
There are two related bills in the Michigan House and Senate that have been brought before committee to address the lag in response when something drastic like the Kalamazoo River’s sediment situation occurs. House Bill 5661 was introduced by Representative Julie Rogers of District 60 and is currently in the Committee for Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation. Senate Bill 813 was introduced by Senator Sean McCann of District 20 and is currently in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. Both bills provide emergency authority so state agencies do not need to rely on the courts to resolve issues of this magnitude. We will keep you updated as these bills are revised and come up for vote. So far, MLSA has registered support for the House version of the bill with the Committee for Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation.