State and local officials agree on the need for clean water, but not on who makes it happen and pays the costs.
“Instead of having the state rule what we should be doing, each community knows we all want clean water,” said Linda Richardson, director of Independence Township Department of Public Works. ‘We can achieve the same goals, without spending a lot of money.?
Independence Township is joining 75 southeast Michigan communities, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, to petition the state about ‘Phase II storm water requirements,? mandated by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
“They are adding additional requirements that are going to cost the townships and the municipalities additional monies and more labor cost,? Richardson said. ‘It’s very labor intensive just administrating this Phase II storm water requirement.?
MDEQ wants municipalities to start monitoring “outfall? from all storm water drains, she said.
“For Independence Township, I think it’s more time than money,? she said. “It will be $200-$400 each time we had to sample. You have to sample different times during your dry weather, your wet weather flow, and you don’t know what they’re going to require or what samples they want.”
The requirement is an unfunded mandate, said Trustee Charles Dunn, an attorney for the case who is representing Wayne and Oakland counties along with 11 other communities.
“The requirements are too onerous in terms of monitoring, mapping, inconsistent with previous storm waters plans approved by MDEQ,? said Dunn. ‘Essentially what they’ve done is, they have issued these permits and these permits have requirements that are just exclusive to Michigan and inconsistent with the authority that MDEQ has under the Michigan Water Pollution
Control Act.?