Gov.
Rick Snyder pitched a plan Thursday to raise $110 million per year to fix Michigan’s busted and rusted water and sewer systems — and to replace lead service lines in the wake of Flint’s water crisis.
The funding source: Michigan ratepayers.
Snyder, a Republican, proposed phasing in a state fee on users of public water systems that serve 1,000 or more people.
The fee would start at $1 and increase by another $1 per year until capping at $5 per year in 2024.
Meanwhile, Snyder is pushing a separate proposal that would require some water utilities to replace all of their lead drinking water service lines lines over 20 years.
Much of the money raised under Snyder’s proposal would go to local grants for lead line replacements.
Though Flint is now internationally associated with Michigan’s failing water infrastructure, it’s far from the only example.
In a press release, Snyder’s office called the added fees “affordable.” The plan requires legislative approval.
On Thursday, Snyder’s office said 80 percent of the extra money from extra water system fees would fund projects in the region that collected it.