Almost two decades ago, a Republican-majority Legislature and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm struck a deal. The state’s environment agency would be allowed to raise fees on businesses for a pollution program, but in exchange, the agency could not make any new rules regarding certain water pollution issues.

Surface and groundwater protection is covered under Part 31 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The Legislature prohibited the then-Department of Environmental Quality from making new rules under Part 31 after December 31, 2006.

That is still the case.

During the current lame duck session, the Legislature is considering bills would lift that ban on making rules for what is today known as the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

“And this piece of legislation, House Bill 5205, Senate Bill 663, just simply strikes that language, that they cannot promulgate any new rules and then would open EGLE to be able to do what they’re actually charged with doing, which is protecting the waters of the state,” said Megan Tinsley with the Michigan Environmental Council.

Democratic Rep. Emily Dievendorf is sponsor of the House version of the bill. Democratic Senator Susan Shink is the Senate sponsor.

EGLE has been unable to keep regulation up to date with some federal standards and updated science since its authority was taken away in 2007.

Since then, we’ve learned about new pollutants such as PFAS.

“So there’s things like this that are just lingering out there that are public health threats, certainly threats to the environment. And this is a very straightforward fix that we just have to get through the process,” Tinsley said.

The Michigan Farm Bureau is among the opponents to the legislation. It’s urging its members to oppose the bills. It characterizes the legislation differently, saying it “would significantly increase EGLE’s regulatory power” as opposed to restoring it as originally written. In a Farm Bureau news release, Legislative Counsel Ben Tirrell is quoted as saying, “Our members prioritize transparency and insist that rules and standards be grounded in sound economic and scientific analysis.”

The group said the legislation would grant EGLE nearly unchecked authority over Michigan’s water.

If restored, EGLE’s regained regulatory authority would be the same under Part 31 as it is under the rest of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.

The Michigan Environmental Council’s Tinsley said it’s urgent that the Democratic majority restores the law before the lame duck session ends.