Special Report

V. CONCLUSION

Annex 2001 is visionary. But it is also completely open to interpretation. The Perrier Group, for example, argued before Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm in 2001 that the company would meet Annex 2001’s net-improvement standard. For evidence, the company pointed to a $500,000 investment it plans to make over 12 years in improving the local watershed. In the meantime, the Perrier Group will receive $9.6 million in state subsidies in addition to an estimated $100 million in revenue each year from the central Michigan water it proposes to export for free.

The Legislature should take action now to develop a comprehensive water use law that clearly defines the public’s water interests and considers the quantity and interconnectedness of water resources. Michigan’s only insurance against water shortages, environmental damage, and wholesale privatization of its waters is a comprehensive water use law that:

ï Asserts the state’s ownership of water and applies public trust principles to water uses.

ï Requires legislative authorization and public trust tests of any out-of-basin water transfers, including a system of compensation, such as a Water Resources Trust Fund.

ï Establishes a system of regulatory and conservation measures to protect and conserve water and avoid adverse environmental effects.

ï Addresses Great Lakes water diversions by implementing Annex 2001 standards.

About the Authors

Andrew Guy, a journalist and community organizer for the Michigan Land Use Institute, is based in his hometown of Grand Rapids, where in 2001 he opened the Institute’s first satellite office. Andy’s primary project focus is the Institute’s effort to revive the state Natural River Act and begin again to protect Michigan’s most beautiful rivers. He also contributes to every facet of the Institute’s communications program, including writing reports, preparing articles for the Great Lakes Bulletin and the Institute’s Web site, as well as writing for other publications and public radio.

Patty Cantrell is the Michigan Land Use Institute’s managing editor and resident economist. Patty also contributes to the Institute’s award-winning Great Lakes Bulletin, its Web site, and its nationally syndicated Elm Street Writers Group, as well as to other media. Raised on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks, Patty began her career as an economic research associate at the Rocky Mountain Institute, an international economic and environmental policy think tank in Snowmass, Colorado. She later joined the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader as a senior business reporter and columnist.