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Winter 2026 Newsletter HERE.

If Passed into Law, Senate Bill 771 Would Help Protect Michigan’s Fragile

 Inland Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Ground Water from Raw Sewage Flowing

from Hundreds of Thousands of Failing Septic Systems in Michigan

by Scott Brown

MWA E- Newsletter Editor

 Introduced by MI State Senator Sam Singh (D-28) and referred to the MI Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, if passed into law, Senate Bill 771 would establish Michigan’s first-ever comprehensive framework for the oversight and on-going maintenance of septic systems (on-site wastewater treatment systems). As the only state in the United States of America without a statewide septic system code, the language of Senate Bill 771 will serve to modernize Michigan’s substantially outdated approach to septic system over-sight and help protect the health of communities and the tens of thousands of freshwater resources that serve those communities. The significance of the problem in Michigan is illustrated by the fact that between calendar years 2013 and 2014 an estimated 5.7 billion gallons of raw sewage from failing septic systems flowed unabated into our inland lakes, river, streams, and groundwater aquifers.

The steadily escalating environmental and public health threat in Michigan is derived from the that fact that approximately 20%, or 280,000 of the 1.4 million septic systems that were constructed during the residential building boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s throughout Michigan are now failing. The issue of failing septic systems has been exacerbated by the fact that many Michigan homes and their now antiquated and often dysfunctional septic systems were built prior to the construction of sewer systems that now serve most towns and villages. The significance of the problem in Michigan is also illustrated by the fact that between calendar years 2013 and 2014 an estimated 5.7 billion gallons of untreated (raw) sewage from failing septic systems flowed unabated into our inland lakes, river, streams, and groundwater aquifers.

The language of MI Senate Bill 771 recognizes that while properly functioning septic systems are an effective and affordable wastewater solution, failing septic systems pose a serious risk to public health, safety, and to Michigan’s freshwater resource inundated environment. If passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Whitmore, Senate Bill 771 would require the MI Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to develop a uniform performance-based standard defined Statewide Sewage Code for both conventional and alternative septic systems within three years.

The key provisions of Senate Bill 771 as introduced are as follows:

• High-risk or older residential septic systems (20+ years and within 500 feet of any surface water or within a high-risk erosion area, critical dune, or 100-year floodplain would be evaluated first, followed by 10-year inspections and checks before any change or increase in use would be approved.
• The language of Senate Bill 771 defines a septic system “failure” and authorizes local health departments to inspect, evaluate, and enforce compliance.
• If passed into law, the legislation would require the establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee comprised of a group of highly qualified experts that will help guide MI EGLE in developing a comprehensive set of rules and performance standards.
• The establishment of a new Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Administration Fund which would provide grants to local health departments, support digitization of septic records, fund public education campaigns, and assist low-income homeowners with inspection and/or repair costs.
• The language of Senate Bill 771 also authorizes the use of approved alternative and innovative treatment methods to meet state standards and therefore ensuring a high degree of flexibility for communities and property owners.

To download a copy of MI Senate Bill 771, click here

by Scott Brown

MWA e-Newsletter Editor

In an effort to give scientists and tribal leaders in the Laurentian Great Lakes region the tools they need to combat the now massive infestation of exotic invasive quagga mussels that have severely degraded the capacity of lower Great Lakes aquatic ecosystems to support once abundant fisheries, U. S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D- Ann Arbor) and Tim Walberg (R – Tipton) intend to introduce legislation in the near future that if enacted would dedicate $500 million in federal funding to long term efforts focused on eliminating the rapidly reproducing mussels. Representing a rare bi-partisan issue, if enacted, the legislation would modify a 1956 program used to combat invasive sea lamprey, an eel-like fish that invaded the Great Lakes in the early 1900s.

If passed, the “Save Great Lakes Fish Act of 2025” would provide funding that would be distributed over the course of the next decade. The federal funds would facilitate scientific research, and the development of effective control methods and restoration strategies intended to eliminate an astronomical number of quagga mussels and ultimately restore the capacity of Great Lakes ecosystems to support abundant whitefish populations and other commercially harvested fish species.

Entering the Great Lakes as exotic aquatic invasive species in the 1980’s, rapidly reproducing quagga mussels are widespread and now number in the quadrillions. Filter feeding invasive quagga mussels have severely affected the capacity of once prolific aquatic ecosystems to support abundant population of whitefish and yellow perch by effectively filtering out the phytoplankton that serves as a food source for microscopic aquatic insects commonly referred to as zooplankton that serve as a vital source of food for the small prey fish that sustain whitefish, yellow perch and many other important fish species. Populations of white fish, for example, an important commercially harvested species, declined by as much as 80% in the past forty years.

Proposed Legislation Creates a $5.00 Hatchery Stamp

and Raises the Cost of MI Resident Fishing Licenses by $2.00

by Scott Brown

In an effort to offset the long term budget eroding effects of inflation and increased operational cost driven cuts experienced by Michigan’s fish stocking program, legislation has been introduced to the Michigan House of Representatives that if enacted would require the purchase of a $5.00 hatchery stamp to fish for hatchery produced cold water species stocked by the MDNR. The language of House Bill 5093 of 2025 would also increase the cost of a Michigan resident fishing license to fish for non-stocked warm water species by $2.00.

Introduced by State Representatives Curtis VanderWall (District 102), Ken Borton (105 District) Doug Wozniak (District 59), and Parker Fairbairn (105 District), most of the revenue generated by the sale of $5.00 hatchery stamps would go directly to the MDNR fisheries division to help offset the long-term effects of inflation, substantial increases in the overall cost of operating hatcheries, and the chronic failure of the state legislature to appropriate annual increases in state funding. Revenue generated by the $2.00 increase in the cost of a Michigan resident fishing license would be dedicated to enhancing inland warm water species (i.e. largemouth bass) fishing opportunities.

Failure to enact House Bill 5093 will most likely affect operations at MDNR run hatcheries that support production of coldwater fish species such as lake trout, brook trout, splake, Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon, and steelhead. The MDNR operates the Marquette State Fish Hatchery, the Thompson State Fish Hatchery located near Manistique, the Oden Fish Hatchery located near Petoskey, the Harrietta State Fish Hatchery, the Platte River State Fish Hatchery located near Honor, and the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery located near Kalamazoo. The legislation is being pro-actively supported by Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Great Lakes Salmon Initiative, and many other sportfishing focused organizations. It is important to note that sport fishing in Michigan generates approximately $2.4 billion annually in economic activity.

For those of us with an abiding interest in all topics related to the politics, management, and

aquatic sciences of Michigan’s extraordinary freshwater resources – our streams, our rivers, and

our inland lakes – the internet and freshwater resource associated websites provide a reliable

information rich venue that allows us to stay well informed. Readers of this e-newsletter may find

the list of organizational websites that appears below useful in fulfilling their on-going need for

current freshwater resource associated information. And, as most of our readers are also aware,

Google provides a powerful on-line tool for searching for tens of thousands freshwater dedicated

on-line resources that are available to anyone with an internet connection.

Alliance for the Great Lakes

For Love of Water

Freshwater Future

Huron River Watershed Council

Michigan Clean Water Corps

MI Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

MI Department of Natural Resources

Michigan Environmental Council

Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership

Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership

Michigan Nursery and Landscaping Association

Michigan State House of Representatives

Michigan State Senate

Michigan United Conservation Clubs

MSU Extension Center for Lakes and Streams

MSU Extension Protecting Lakes and Streams

MSU Institute of Water Resources

Michigan Waterfront Alliance

Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council

United States Environmental Protection Agency

To: Members of the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives

From: Michigan Waterfront Alliance and Lake Awareness Day Partners 

RE: Donation Option on Watercraft Registrations 

Due to the ever-increasing ecological threat and economic disruption that Aquatic Invasive Species are having on our Michigan inland waterways, Michigan Waterfront Alliance and our Lake Awareness Day Partners Propose the following:

1. Fund Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention and Control on Michigan’s inland waterways with a Donation Option on Watercraft Registrations. No specific donation amount would be suggested, and each volunteer donor would receive a decal acknowledging their donation along with their watercraft registration decal.

2. The MI Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) would create an AIS Prevention and Control Fund Advisory Committee modeled after the office that is responsible for dispersing funds generated by the “Protecting Our Waters” specialty license plate program. This AIS Prevention and Control Fund Advisory Committee would be responsible for making decisions regarding the allocation and dispersal of funds generated by the watercraft registration donation option program.

3. We must ensure the existence of language within the proposed legislation that will serve to ensure that the revenue generated by the Watercraft Registration Donation Option program is “protected” and therefore “restricted” for use only to fund Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Control program related functions and activities.

Legislation Draft of:

Fund AIS Prevention and Remediation on Michigan’s inland waterways with a Donation Option on Watercraft Registrations. Funds collected by the Watercraft Registration Donation Option program for AIS Prevention and Control on Michigan’s public waterways by the Michigan Secretary of State will go directly to the state treasurer who shall credit donated funds to an account(s) established by the AIS Prevention and Control Fund Advisory Committee.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) shall establish an AIS Prevention and Control Fund Advisory Committee whose primary responsibility will be to advise EGLE on the watercraft registration Donor Option program. The Donor Option program shall be primarily dedicated to providing grants to local units of government, inland lake, river, and stream associations and other non-governmental organizations for the sole purpose of Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention and Control. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy may promulgate rules to implement this grant program under the auspices of the Administrative Procedures Act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

1. The AIS Prevention and Control Fund is created within the Michigan state treasury. The state treasurer may receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasurer shall direct the investment of the fund. The state treasurer shall credit to the fund interest and earnings from fund investments. Money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not lapse into the general fund. Money from the fund shall be expended, upon appropriation, solely for the purpose of AIS Prevention and Control on Michigan’s waterway.
2. For the purpose of this chapter, “local units of government” shall be defined as any of the following:

• A county, city, village or township
• An agency of a county, city, village or township
• The office of a county drain commissioner
• A soil conservation district established under Part 93 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994, PA 451 – MCL 324.9301 to 324.9313.
• A watershed council established under Part 311 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994, PA 451 – MCL 324.31101 to 324.31119.
• A local health department as that term is defined in Section 1105 of Public Health Code, 1978, PA368 – MCL 333.1105.
• A community college or junior college established pursuant to Section 7 of Article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.
• A 4-year institution of higher education, public or private, located within the State of Michigan.

3.For purposes of this chapter, “lake, river, or stream association” shall be defined according the

following criteria:

Any State of Michigan currently incorporated inland lake, river or stream organization.

4.For the purpose of this chapter, “non-government organization” shall be defined by the

Michigan Department of Environment (EGLE).

For further information please contact:

Bob Frye – Michigan Waterfront Alliance – 517 403 3947 – email roberttfrye@gmail.com

Matt Kurta – Karoub Associates – 517 482 5000 – email mkurta@karoub.com

Madeline Fata – Karoub Associates – 517 763 6521 – email mfata@karoub.com

by Scott Brown

MWA e-Newsletter Editor

Responding to the sad fact that Michigan remains the only state within the United States of America that has not yet enacted a common sense statewide septic system code, the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners recently voted to help protect public health and extraordinarily valuable freshwater ecosystems by unanimously passing a countywide septic ordinance. Defined by 132 miles of Great Lakes coastal shoreline, 146 named inland lakes, many more unnamed lakes, and two major rivers, a recently published story regarding the rare action by For Love of Water Advocates aptly describes passage of the ordinance as Grant Traverse County “positioning itself as a leader in safeguarding public health and freshwater resources in the absence of a statewide septic code.”

The recently enacted Grant Traverse County ordinance indicates that beginning on January 1, 2026, any property with a septic system that is located within 300 feet of any above-ground body of freshwater such as lakes, ponds, streams, or rivers–must be evaluated before it can be sold or transferred. Passage of the ordinance came in response to the fact that Grand Traverse County commissioners as well as officials from the county health department recognized that a properly functioning septic system is essential to preventing pathogens as well as harmful nutrients and chemical pollution from entering freshwater ecosystems and groundwater aquifers.

The action taken by Grand Traverse County to help protect human health and economically valuable freshwater ecosystems is particularly noteworthy due to the fact that only 13% of counties in Michigan have enacted local regulations that require septic systems to be evaluated. It is also important to note that hundreds of thousands of failing septic systems in Michigan continue to be a major source of e-coli and human fecal bacteria laden raw sewage that contaminates our ground water, and renders the waters of many our lakes, rivers, and streams unfit for total contact water sports such as swimming or snorkeling.

The steadily escalating environmental and public health associated problem in Michigan is derived from that fact that approximately 20%, or 280,000, of the 1.4 million septic systems that were constructed during the residential building boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s throughout Michigan are now failing. The overall significance of on-going problem has also been exacerbated by the fact that many Michigan homes and their now severely antiquated and often dysfunctional septic systems were built prior to the construction of sewer systems that now serve even the smallest of towns and villages.

Septic systems, otherwise known as on-site waste water disposal systems, are designed and installed in order to manage and treat the waste generated by toilets before it reaches ground water. In a properly designed septic system, the septic tank serves to remove larger solids from wastewater. Wastewater that flows out of the septic tank is saturated with contaminants that must be removed before the water can safely be combined with surface and/or groundwater. Public health issues stem from the fact that septic tank effluent contains large concentrations of toxic micro-organisms that are capable of making people sick. Moreover, the organic matter present in wastewater effluent creates bad odors, and contains algae growth stimulating nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) that can have a negative impact on the aquatic ecosystems of our inland lakes, rivers, and streams. Properly designed septic systems include a disposal field comprised of a mixture of sand, silt, and clay that are often referred to as loamy soils that act to successfully treat bacterial and inorganic compounds. Phosphorus that is produced within the household that passes through the septic tank is also captured within a properly designed disposal field’s soil.

On-site waste water disposal systems continue to be installed in support of residential and commercial development that occurs in rural settings where sanitary sewer systems are not available. According to Michigan State University Extension, when an on-site waste water disposal system is correctly located, properly designed, carefully installed, regularly inspected, and properly maintained, they serve as effective waste disposal systems that are economical and that do not pose a threat to public health or to the fragile ecosystems of surrounding streams, rivers, and lakes.

The gravity of the situation in Michigan is also effectively illustrated by the fact that the results of a 2015 study conducted by Michigan State University researchers on sixty-four Michigan rivers revealed that concentrations of e-coli that were higher than U. S. Environmental Protection Agency permitted water quality standards. The significance of the issue is also amplified by the fact that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lake, and Energy (EGLE) reports that approximately one half of Michigan’s thousands of miles of rivers and streams suffer from concentrations of toxic e-coli that exceed minimum water quality standards.

Created by the glaciers that gradually receded from North America’s Great Lakes region more than ten thousand years ago, inland lakes grace Michigan’s unique landscape like sparkling jewels. Thousands of inland lakes of all shapes, sizes, and depths play a distinctive role in making Michigan a beautiful place to live, work, and engage in water-borne recreational activities. In addition to enhancing the natural beauty of our freshwater-centric state, inland lakes contribute an extraordinarily valuable array of economic benefits to Michigan by:

• providing high quality recreational opportunities for millions of our fellow citizens and visitors to our magnificent state
• enabling lucrative inland lake dependent business opportunities for thousands of entrepreneurs
• supporting premium lakefront living lifestyles and enhanced riparian property values that benefit hundreds of local communities and public schools
• enhancing the aesthetic appeal and therefore the economic viability of near-by villages, towns, and urban areas

Moreover, by enabling popular water-borne recreational activities such as boating, fishing, and waterfowl hunting, our inland lakes play a vital role in helping to promote and sustain market driven economic expansion by stimulating the demand for new lakefront and/or near shore businesses as well by contributing to the prosperity and growth of nearby communities. Generating tens of billions of dollars in annual economic activity, our natural treasure of thousands of high-quality inland lakes are vital economic engines that will ultimately play an important role in helping to create and sustain the robust “blue” economy that will help ensure a productive and prosperous future for coming generations of Michigan’s citizens.