State employees honor Rebekah Warren for work protecting Michigan's wetlands

Posted: Jul 28, 2010 at 2:04 PM [Jul 28, 2010]

State Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, has been named the 2010 Legislator of the Year by the Service Employees International Union, an award given in recognition of a deal she brokered this past year to protect Michigan's 30-year-old wetlands program.

SEIU represents several state employees, including many in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The group cites Warren's efforts to make sure Michigan’s wetlands — the basis for replenishment and cleansing of the Great Lakes basin — will stay under the stewardship of the citizens of Michigan.

“It’s tremendously gratifying to be recognized by the men and women who spend every day striving to protect Michigan’s environmental heritage,” Warren said in a statement. “I am moved that they consider me an ally, a part of their team, in such a noble cause.”

Michigan’s wetlands program has required permitting and examination of wetlands before development since it was enacted in 1979 under then-governor Bill Milliken.

The program's successful implementation has been cause for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow Michigan to self-regulate provisions of the Clean Water Act — one of only two states in the nation afforded that authority.

In her 2009 State of the State address, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a plan to return the wetlands protection program to the federal government as a cost-savings measure. Milliken himself weighed in against the proposal, noting that nearly a million wetland acres would lose their current protection if the federal government took over.

Democrat and Republican legislative leaders initially supported the governor’s plan, with one House member introducing legislation to repeal the wetlands program the day following the announcement. Environmentalist were alarmed and reached out to Warren and Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, to devise a bipartisan strategy to preserve the program.

The two lawmakers also were instrumental in the passage of the Great Lakes Compact and the state's new Parks Passport program, which goes into effect this fall.

“Patty and I never let partisanship get in the way of problem-solving,” Warren said. “We share a common value in our love of Michigan’s natural places, and we worked diligently to build solutions that respect each other’s political interests.”

Working with the Michigan Association of Home Builders and the Farm Bureau alongside the Michigan Environmental Council and Clean Water Action, Warren helped devise a three-year funding strategy and negotiated the retention of the state’s current wetlands definition, keeping 5.5 million acres protected, including the million that did not qualify for federal protection.

One of the key compromises, Warren said, was expanding options for sustainable agricultural use of the state’s wetlands — a move she says has created nearly 1,400 new jobs. Only two of 110 House members voted against the legislation and the Senate gave unanimous support.

Warren will face off against state Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, for the 18th District state Senate seat next Tuesday alongside Thomas Partridge.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.