Sen. McManus calls governors DNR/DEQ consolidation plan a good first step; says more work needs to be done
Friday, October 09, 2009
LANSING—State Sen. Michelle McManus on Thursday called the governor’s plan to create a new Department of Natural Resources and Environment a step in the right direction, but said more work needs to be done. She urged the Senate to reject Executive Order 45 of 2009, which would establish the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in state government.
“I am pleased to see the governor get off the sidelines and join our efforts to reform state government, and I like a lot of what I see in her plan, but there are several aspects that are simply unacceptable,” said McManus, chair of the Senate Appropriations Natural Resources Subcommittee. “The Legislature has put forth a plan that preserves our citizens’ role in the process and makes efficient use of our state’s scarce resources. I encourage her to take another look at our proposal.”
Under McManus’s bipartisan, bicameral package of bills, the department would continue to be called the Department of Natural Resources and remain under the authority of the Natural Resources Commission. The DEQ would become an agency under the DNR with its own administrator appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the Senate. All permitting decisions made by the DEQ related to environmental protection permits would be final and not subject to appeal to the Natural Resources Commission.
Under the governor’s plan, a new department would be created and several citizen-run commissions would be eliminated, including the Parks Commission and the Snowmobile Advisory Board. The governor’s plan also ends the long-standing tradition of allowing the Natural Resources Commission to select the head of the department.
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