(The Center Square) – Michigan’s water is under investigation yet again.
State Rep. Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township is looking to stop Oakland County’s current sewage plan, which he claims dumps millions of gallons of waste into Macomb County waters each year. He told the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to delay re-approval of Oakland’s discharge permit.
Under the current permit plan, which expired last year, Oakland County releases both partially treated and untreated wastewater into the Red Run Drain, which flows into Macomb County’s Clinton River and then Lake St. Clair. Until Oakland County separates its current system, Wozniak says the EGLE should hold off on the permitting process.
“We cannot continue letting Oakland County dump millions of gallons of sewage into Macomb County surface waters,” Wozniak said in a press release. “Our next-door neighbor – one of the wealthiest counties in the country, has been glossing over this problem for decades, and the state has permitted it. Nothing is stopping Oakland County from committing resources to the wastewater system. If more of its residents knew what they were doing to Michigan’s waters, they would demand that the county take corrective action.”
County Commission Chair Don Brown and Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller have joined Wozniak in support of revamping the sewage system. While Wozniak says he is planning on writing legislation relating to the issue, he believes action can be taken at the executive level as well.
The Oakland County Water Resources Commission is responsible for reviewing all sewage engineering plans, as well as monitoring lake levels controls. Larger communities that fall under the commission’s jurisdiction include Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills, parts of Novi, Oxford Township, Pontiac, Royal Oak Township and White Lake Township.
Jim Nash, the current commissioner, is up for election in November. He faces a challenger in this evening’s Democratic primary, Jim Stevens, who is focused on septic field maintenance.