From permitting to processing and septic codes to guidebooks, a wide array of topics were on table Tuesday as Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Director Phil Roos spoke to Michigan Farm Bureau members.
The interactive session at MFB’s Lansing Legislative Seminar focused on how Michigan agriculture and environmental leadership can work together so that both ag businesses and natural resources can thrive.
“We all know that there have been disagreements between EGLE and ag but today is a positive step toward what is hopefully a more productive relationship going forward,” said MFB District 2 Director Jennifer Lewis, who moderated the session.
Roos acknowledged the ongoing litigation that’s happening as more than half of the permitted Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the state and MFB are challenging EGLE’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for CAFOs.
“I know there are tensions that come up, obviously, and that probably with the ag community that comes up the most,” Roos said.
“We have laws that we're supposed to enforce, and you have businesses to run, and there can be some disconnect there, but that doesn't mean you can't figure that out and try to streamline it as much as we can and make the process easier.”
Following an entrepreneurial and business career — including time as vice president of marketing for Little Caesars — Roos now leads a department made up of 1,650 employees with a budget of approximately $1 billion.
Roos credited Michigan Farm Bureau for helping him and some of his staff members get out to visit a farm in person.
“We can work together,” Roos said. “We can improve things.”
He went on to talk about a visit to a fruit and vegetable processor where he saw the challenges that come along with their work.
“You have a situation where a lot of wastewater is being created, and we cannot create a contaminated site,” Roos said.
“But that doesn't mean that we can't be thoughtful about something that works within the economics of that are a reality. We're not here to put people out of business.”
In addition to citing improvements to the Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool last fall and “streamlined” permitting processes, Roos also talked about EGLE’s ongoing work on permitting guidebooks.
Those guidebooks are part of an MFB-backed provision in the state budget requiring EGLE to have stakeholder-developed permitting guidebooks and publish a report detailing the number of permits issued outside of their statutory timeline.
“I know farmers are the original environmentalists, and I think that every person in this room does what they can to make sure of that,” MFB’s Lewis said to Roos at the close of the session.
“We certainly attempt to do a good job of it, and we hope that you realize that. So if there's more interaction that we can have with your department, we certainly would encourage that.”