After months of wrangling and debate, lawmakers have come to an agreement on water withdrawal legislation, quickly passing new water protection legislation and sending it to the governor.
MITA has been tracking the legislation closely for the past year, ensuring there would not be any new regulations to hamper the construction process.
There were several areas of specific concern for the heavy construction industry. One was the dewatering process, which has been exempted under the proposed legislation.
Another area of concern was in the possible limitation of water usage associated with the production of asphalt, concrete and aggregate. One bill would have cut the current two million gallon a day threshold to one million. Under the agreement announced this week, the 2 million gallon threshold would be maintained in all but a small number of high-risk areas.
MITA was also successful in maintaining a “seasonal exemption”, waiving any new regulations on water used in projects lasting less than 90 days.
If you have any questions please contact Mike Nystrom, Vice President of Government and Public Relations at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com; or Keith Ledbetter , Director of Legislative Affairs at keithledbetter@mi-ita.com; or by calling the MITA office at (517) 347-8336.
