The Department of Environmental Quality has received a water withdrawal permit request from the Genesee County Drain Commission for the withdrawal of water from Lake Huron. The permit request is for a large quantity withdrawal of 85 million gallons per day from Lake Huron to serve as a public water supply source for Genesee County, the city of Flint and customer municipalities in Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw, and Shiawassee counties.

Under Michigan law, a person who intends to make a large quantity withdrawal of over 2 million gallons per day is required to submit a permit application for a proposed withdrawal that includes information related to the location and source of the withdrawal, the nature of the proposed use, and estimates of water use on a monthly and annual basis. Based on the volume of the withdrawal the state is also making the application available for regional comment by other Great Lakes states and provinces.

A 45 day public comment period required under state law will be open through July 15, and a decision on the permit application is expected later this summer.

Copies of the permit application and supporting information are available online at: http://www.michigan.gov/deqwater.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised May 27, 2009 by Rosemarie Olszewski