Dillon, Mayes Top List of Worst Lawmakers

Clean Water Action has released scorecard ratings of Michigan state House legislators on environmental issues and for the first time two Democratic leaders head the list of Worst Lawmakers.

State House Speaker Andy Dillon and fellow Democrat Jeff Mayes, chair of the House energy committee, were given low marks for their leadership failures on key environmental and jobs-related issues in Clean Water Action's 2009-2010 Legislative Scorecard.

It seemed crystal clear. When Consumers Energy recently shelved plans for a dirty, unneeded coal plant that would have saddled ratepayers and shareholders with billions in costs, it appeared as though the utility giant was finally seeing clearly.

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Consumers is seeing about as clearly as if the board were wearing mud-covered glasses. That's the only explanation possible for the decision to pursue permits to drain wetlands in a watershed that directly impacts Lake Huron near Bay City for the new, dirty, costly, and unneeded coal plant. A plant, remember, the utility said was put on hold indefinitely.

By weighing-in today, you can make sure the state officials making the decision on the wetlands permit don't have the same vision problems.

As the November election season gets underway, don't be fooled by the lies and rhetoric you are going to hear about Proposition 18. Clean Water Action strongly opposes this bond placed on this November's ballot by the Governor and Legislature. This measure will only worsen California's precarious financial position while failing to address California's most urgent water needs.

What do water rights mean to you? Some common questions and and answers.

Does water rights legislation mean more taxes?

No, absolutely not. The goal of Clean Water Action's water rights campaign is to make sure that your rights to plentiful groundwater are protected-so wells won't run dry and lake and stream levels stay healthy.  Taxes aren't mentioned or intended in the proposed laws.

Although Michigan's lakes, rivers and streams still have some protections against damaging water exports, court decisions trigged by lawsuits from international water companies have eroded our rights to control what happens to our groundwater, the lifeblood of the entire Great Lakes system.

That's why Clean Water Action is working to put stronger water rights protections into Michigan's water laws. It's the only way we can protect the water underneath us in the same way we protect our lakes, rivers and streams.

What's in the products you use every day? The lining in a can of food? The mattress you slept on last night? Your children's toys? Or even the computer you're reading this on? In fact, the public has very little information about the chemicals in the products we use or their potential impact on our health or our environment.

More often than not, even the companies that made these products don't have this information because their suppliers won't tell them!

One of the major reasons for this is that chemical manufacturers have abused legitimate legal protections by claiming that this basic information is a trade secret or confidential business information.