Oakland County remains committed to protecting public health, safeguarding water quality, and being a responsible steward of our natural resources. We recognize the importance of transparency, regional collaboration, and community trust—especially when it comes to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and their impact on the region’s waterways.
However, we strongly oppose the proposed legislative package being introduced on the House Floor yesterday, which seeks to impose impractical, and counterproductive mandates on municipalities that manage CSO infrastructure.
This legislation unfairly targets Oakland County despite our decades-long investment in one of the most advanced CSO treatment systems in the state. The George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Facility is a critical public health facility that captures and treats millions of gallons of stormwater and wastewater—preventing pollution and untreated sewage from entering our waterways during heavy rainfall. The facility operates under a permit issued and regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), and meets stringent discharge and reporting requirements.
The proposed bills overlook the root causes of CSOs—climate-driven weather patterns and the need for broader investment across county lines. Instead, they impose unrealistic permitting hurdles, steep penalties, and inter-county veto power that would undermine the very systems designed to protect our waterways.
We agree that timely public notification and regional coordination are essential. Oakland County already shares discharge data, notifies the media, applicable health departments and complies with all state-mandated reporting protocols. We are open to improving those systems further—through cooperative planning and fact-based policy—not through politicized legislation that does little to improve public health outcomes.
We encourage lawmakers to work with local governments, not against them, to craft effective, science-based solutions to regional water challenges. Oakland County stands ready to be part of that conversation.
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