These are notes from the Annual Legislative Breakfast of Monday, March 7, which took place at the Kalamazoo Nature Center
Invited lawmakers or their staff:
State Senator Tonya Schuitmaker
State Representative Sean McCann
State Representative Margaret O’Brien
State Representative Jase Bolger (represented by staff person Paul Egnatuk)
U.S. Senator Carl Levin (represented by Paul Troost)
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabnow (represented by Mary Judnich)
U.S. Representative Fred Upton (represented by Ed Sackley)
Moderator: Sarah Reding, Kalamazoo Nature Center
What is your top environmental priority and what will you do to advance the issue?
Schuitmaker: Conserve energy and look at new methods; replace dirty old plants with new; hope market will drive down the price of solar and wind; cites problem of private solar entrepreneur in Galesburg who now faces huge tax bill due because the installation is subject to personal property taxes – would seek a remedy to this situation
McCann: Serve on the DEQ budget committee and the appropriations committee; need to retain adequate funding for DEQ; sees a conundrum in expecting more from the department with less funding; concerned with ending tax credits for brownfield redevelopment
O’Brien: No “burning issue” for her personally although she cares “passionately” about the environment and wants her children to be able to use and enjoy the state’s outdoor assets in the future; mentions sustainable alternatives and energy policy but no specifics; wants an equitable personal property tax situation and decisions that are safe, scientific and preserve property rights
Egnatuk: Rep. Bolger’s role, as Speaker of the House, is not with specific legislation, but in overseeing the legislative process; everything is rolled up with budget issues; must create jobs before we can do the other things
Judnich: Sen. Stabenow chairs the Ag Committee; the big farm bill reauthorization is the priority item for the year – it includes an environmental title; is working with the rest of the Michigan delegation to create a more timely action plan to permanently separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi watershed at Chicago to prevent Asian Carp moving into the lakes
Troost: read from a prepared paper highlighting Sen. Levin’s record of legislation to fund protection and restoration of the Great Lakes. Sen. Levin is waiting for the Republican co-chair to be name for the Great Lakes Task Force before working to re-introduce his bill from the last session to authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a multi- federal agency effort proposed by President Obama
Sackley: Representative Upton seeks commonsense, bi-partisan solutions, especially in protecting the Great Lakes; cited funding for WMU’s carbon capture and sequestration research; pipeline safety upgrades are long overdue; entire Michigan delegation is committed to HR 892 dealing with the Asian Carp situation
These are the questions that were prepared by KEC to start the discussion:
1. For state legislators---Numerous Michigan businesses are adopting “sustainability” measures to make their operations more environmentally responsible while protecting or even improving their profitability. What role can the state play in promoting and assisting such efforts?
Schuitmaker: resolve the personal property tax issues; incentivize “green” efforts
O’Brien: streamline the permitting process
McCann: he is contemplating a bill to ramp up the RPS (renewable portfolio standard)
Egnatuk: need to fix the budget problem so business can think long term
2. For Congressman Upton and any others who wish to respond—Does the available evidence convince you that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions cause global climate change? If so, do you believe that this constitutes a threat to human well-being on earth?
Sackley: anticipated this question but will not “fall into the trap”; climate change has been happening throughout the history of the world and will continue – can we change that?; need to look at all the technologies [did not, however, specifically mention nuclear power]; HR 910 Energy Tax Reduction Bill is co-sponsored by 3 ranking Democrats – is narrowly drawn to clarify the EPA’s role; it is up to Congress to make the law, the Supreme Court interprets the law
Troost: “Yes, EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions!”
3. For state legislators---What will you do to ensure that the state has the ability to accept available federal funding for continued development of the higher-speed rail corridor between Chicago and Detroit?
Schuitmaker: This is a budgetary question; can’t say at this time that legislature can come up the 20% match; a matter of priorities when we are cutting higher education, schools are threatened with bankruptcy, Medicare is challenged; MI business climate is non-competitive
McCann: short-sighted to leave federal $ on the table; rail development will create jobs; there is a bill to create a funding mechanism [presumably HB 4035 introduced by Wayne Schmidt to allow state building authority bonding for rail projects]; mentions the financing arrangement for the proposed Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) that will provide match monies for federal grants – doesn’t know if funds could be applied to rail
4. Does Michigan have the needed laws and regulations to guide us as we use new technologies and new sources of energy? For example, are regulations covering fracking adequate to protect our groundwater?
O’Brien: don’t know if current regulations are adequate; legislature is, however, looking to see if there are regulations on the books that are outdated, unnecessary
McCann: trying to get up to speed on the issue; EPA is working on regulations; wants to ensure that Michigan resources are protected
These are questions that came from the audience via cards:
1. For federal lawmakers---What is your position on stricter pipeline standards for shale oil transport?
Sackely: recent visit from NRDC made him aware that shale oil is a different kind of product; regulations have to ensure safety of all products
Troost & Judnich: acknowledged that this is a new issue; need to learn more
2. EPA will soon choose a “cleanup” option for the Allied site in Kalamazoo. Will you support the total removal option?
The question elicited an immediate chorus of “Yes, of course!”
Sackley: waiting to see what the EPA says; it has never been definitively established that there is no danger to the city well-field
McCann: interested in the best solution; can’t leave a dump in the middle of our community
3. How can brownfield redevelopment be promoted it tax credits are eliminated as Governor Synder’s budget proposes?
Schuitmaker: this is a top concern – the tax credit should be retained – “it’s the right incentive”
O’Brien: the Governor’s budget does retain some tax credits; as a realtor, sees the value of re-using property
Egnatuk: urges people to let their legislator know what is important to them; if these credits go away, “I don’t know what happens to the urban core.”
Sackely: on the docket in Congress is the reauthorization of the federal brownfield program
4. Michigan lags behind the rest of the Great Lakes States in recycling. Since expanding recycling programs can add 13,000 jobs, what can you do to increase recycling in the future?
O’Brien: cites Portage voters support of recycling through a millage; government mandates don’t create the local “buy-in” that recycling programs need to succeed
McCann: would like to add water/juice containers to the bottle deposit law
5. Renewable Portfolio Standards: A recent (2011) Michigan Public Service Commission report documented that wind energy costs are lower thatn predicted and actually lower than the levelized cost of coal plants. Should Michigan increase the RPS %? Should we have a national RPS?
Schuitmaker: would like to see the study, believes alternative forms of energy are more costly – “educate me if I’m wrong”
McCann: the oil and gas industries have received massive subsidies; would like to see the RPS increased
O’Brien: 2 problems with wind: intermittent & visual pollution; offshore wind turbines could affect the tourism industry
Egnatuk: “if it’s shown to be cheaper”
6. For Sen. Stabenow---What is the cost of crop subsidies? Is there any discussion about ending them?
Judnich: there is a need for re-evaluation and there will be a lot of discussion as the farm bill reauthorization moves forward in this session; would like people to let her (Judnich) know of their concerns and ideas
7. For Rep. O’Brien---How does the proposed budget affect regulations of CAFOs?
O’Brien: the MAEAP bill has just passed to certify farmers who employ best practices; certified operators will not be held liable if a spill occurs that “could not have been foreseen”
8. Are there any proposals coming up related to local food systems and sustainable agricultural practices?
Judnich: asks that folks communicate ideas to Stabenow’s office; there is available funding for things such as refrigeration to allow schools to use more fresh, local foods
Sackley: Upton’s Farm-to-Cafeteria bill of a couple years ago was never given an appropriation; cites the success of Kalamazoo College’s program that has gone forward without federal action
9. The methamphetamine cleanup protocol and resultant cleanups were done with a brownfield grant from EPA. What can be done at the state level to prevent abandonment of contaminated property in our state?
O’Brien: cites the rapidly changing production methods – how to prevent the problem is the issue; is not aware of funding for cleanup – property owners are responsible; not sure who picks up the cost of roadside clean-up
10. What efforts have you or your office made to address the shipment of nuclear waste from Canada through the Great Lakes?
This question, from Nick Wikar of Students for a Sustainable Earth, seemed to be completely off the radar screens of all. They asked Nick to provide them some information. Recently, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has approved a plan to ship radioactive steam generators from Ontario’s Bruce Nuclear Generating Station through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence seaway to Sweden for recycling.
11. Do you support any changes in regulations regarding disposal of yard waste in landfills?
Schuitmaker: there are no plans to bring this up in the Senate
Egnatuk: there is interest on the part of certain municipalities to place yard waste in landfills to speed up the production of methane gas for generating power; HB 4265 & HB 4266 have been introduced in the House and sent to the Energy & Technology Committee
These prepared questions were not asked:
1. For federal lawmakers—What are you doing, in the midst of the budget crisis, to provide adequate funding for Great Lakes protection, Kalamazoo River cleanup and other environmental programs critical to this area’s human and economic health?
2. For state lawmakers—As you work to balance Michigan’s budget, which natural resources and environmental programs must be protected and which do you believe can be cut back or eliminated? Are there potential new funding sources to support these programs?
Additional question submitted by the audience that were not asked due to lack of time:
1. Are you willing to support a bill requiring testing of effects of flood control efforts by the Corps of Engineers on shoreline erosion?
2. CAFOs produce waste comparable to small cities yet are not held to comparable environmental standards? Should they be?
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