SEMCOG releases report on funding protection of Southeast Michigan’s environment and the need for reform

Since 2000, Michigan General Fund allocations to support environmental protection efforts have declined by 65 percent according to Funding Environmental Protection in Michigan: The Need for Change, a report released by SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The purpose of this report is to summarize the status of funding sources for environmental protection programs in Michigan and to stimulate discussion on possible changes to address problems with the existing structure. These environmental funding sources impact Michigan’s long-term economic viability, which hinges on a competitive business climate, protection of its unique natural resources, retaining its current population, and enticing others to work and raise their families in Southeast Michigan.

This report provides several recommendations designed to stimulate discussion on possible changes to the existing structure for funding Michigan’s environmental protection efforts:

• The current funding structure for state environmental programs needs to be redesigned with less reliance on fees.
• General funding needs to account for a larger portion of administering the state’s environmental programs consistent with constitutional obligations to provide needed flexibility to the state’s changing environmental concerns.
• Funding to finance the programs previously paid for through the Clean Michigan Initiative (CMI) bond program must be identified.
• Michigan’s government and business leaders should partner with congressional representatives to ensure that new federal requirements are accompanied by the fiscal resources needed for implementation.

“Local governments and business are bearing an increasing share of financing the states’ programs through fees,” said Chuck Hersey, Manager of Environmental Programs at SEMCOG. “This is unsustainable.”

The complete report, Funding Environmental Protection in Michigan: The Need for Change, is available from SEMCOG Information Center, (313) 961-4266, or can be downloaded in PDF from SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org.

SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of local governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life.

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Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
535 Griswold Street, Suite 300 Detroit, MI 48226-3602
313-961-4266 - Fax 313-961-4869
www.semcog.org