Michigan Laws 324.32702 – Legislative findings and declarations; authority
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.32702
- Diversion: means a transfer of water from the Great Lakes basin into another watershed, or from the watershed of 1 of the Great Lakes into that of another by any means of transfer, including, but not limited to, a pipeline, canal, tunnel, aqueduct, channel, modification of the direction of a water course, tanker ship, tanker truck, or rail tanker but does not apply to water that is used in the Great Lakes basin or a Great Lake watershed to manufacture or produce a product that is then transferred out of the Great Lakes basin or watershed. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- Great Lakes: means Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, Erie, and Ontario and their connecting waterways including the St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- Great Lakes basin: means the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- Great Lakes charter: means the document establishing the principles for the cooperative management of the Great Lakes water resources, signed by the governors and premiers of the Great Lakes region on February 11, 1985. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- Great Lakes region: means the geographic region composed of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- Waters of the state: means groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams and all other watercourses and waters, including the Great Lakes, within the territorial boundaries of the state. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
- Withdrawal: means the removal of water from surface water or groundwater. See Michigan Laws 324.32701
(1) The legislature finds and declares that:
(a) A diversion of water out of the basin of the Great Lakes may impair or destroy the Great Lakes. The legislature further finds that a limitation on such diversions is authorized by and is consistent with the mandate of section 52 of article IV of the state constitution of 1963 that the legislature provide for the protection of the air, water, and other natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment, and destruction.
(b) Water use registration and reporting are essential to implementing the principles of the Great Lakes charter and necessary to support the state’s opposition to diversion of waters of the Great Lakes basin and to provide a source of information on water use to protect Michigan’s rights when proposed water losses affect the level, flow, use, or quality of waters of the Great Lakes basin.
(c) The waters of the state are valuable public natural resources held in trust by the state, and the state has a duty as trustee to manage its waters effectively for the use and enjoyment of present and future residents and for the protection of the environment.
(d) The waters of the Great Lakes basin are a valuable public natural resource, and the states and provinces of the Great Lakes region and Michigan share a common interest in the preservation of that resource.
(e) Any new diversion of waters of the Great Lakes basin for use outside of the Great Lakes basin will have significant economic and environmental impact adversely affecting the use of this resource by the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces.
(f) The continued availability of water for domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supplies, navigation, hydroelectric power and energy production, recreation, and the maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and a balanced ecosystem are vital to the future economic health of the states and provinces of the Great Lakes region.
(g) Future interbasin diversions and consumptive uses of waters of the Great Lakes basin may have significant adverse impacts upon the environment, economy, and welfare of the Great Lakes region and of this state.
(h) The states and provinces of the Great Lakes region have a duty to protect, conserve, and manage their shared water resources for the use and enjoyment of present and future residents.
(i) The waters of the Great Lakes basin are capable of concurrently serving multiple uses, and such multiple uses of water resources for municipal, public, industrial, commercial, agriculture, mining, navigation, energy development and production, recreation, water quality maintenance, and the maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and a balanced ecosystem and other purposes are encouraged, recognizing that such uses are interdependent and must be balanced.
(j) The waters of the Great Lakes basin are interconnected and part of a single hydrologic system.
(2) The legislature has the authority under section 51 and 52 of article IV of the state constitution of 1963 to regulate the withdrawal and uses of the waters of the state, including both surface water and groundwater, to promote the public health, safety, and welfare and to protect the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment, and destruction, subject to constitutional protections against unreasonable or arbitrary governmental action and the taking of property without just compensation. This authority extends to all waters within the territorial boundaries of the state.