New bills in the Michigan legislature would limit distribution of the state’s water resources to the Great Lakes watershed by removing an exemption that currently allows companies like Nestle to ship bottled water outside the basin.

Sponsored by state Reps. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, and Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, the three-bill package would also designate groundwater as part of the public trust and would give the Department of Natural Resources more authority in water resource management.

The Great Lakes Compact already bans most water diversions, but the rules currently allow for unlimited amounts of water to be removed from the watershed as long as it’s in a container smaller than 5.7 gallons. A key piece of the bill package would prohibit that small-container diversion, which supporters said during a Thursday press conference would stop the “theft" of local water resources.

“We want to close that loophole - we want to stop the theft of our water,” Rabhi said.

The bills would not impact a company’s ability to distribute bottled water within the watershed, Rabhi said.

The legislation comes days after a three-judge panel reversed a lower court decision that had ordered Osceola Township to approve Nestle Waters North America’s attempt to build infrastructure needed to market groundwater drawn from a wellhead near Evart.

Nestle is currently working to increase the Michigan groundwater it sources for bottling under the Ice Mountain brand; a controversial move that state environmental regulators approved in April 2018.

Hood, who sponsored the bill to end small-container water diversion, said the state of Michigan “should not be allowing corporations to profit off of permanently removing massive quantities of water that belongs to all of us.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Nestle Waters North America said the proposed legislation “unjustly targets the bottled water industry” and said the company is committed to environmental protection and ensuring the sustainability of Michigan’s natural resources.

“It is unfair to single out one industry, one type of water user, for such restrictions,” the statement read.

The spokesperson also cited 2016 water use data from the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy that showed Nestle was 69th on the list of the state’s top water users.

Environmental groups praised the legislation as a means to give citizens more say in what happens to the state’s water resources.

Mary Brady-Enerson, Michigan director of the group Clean Water Action, said in a statement the legislation would ensure “the people of Michigan, not companies like Nestle, get to decide how our waters are used.”

As freshwater becomes more in demand around the globe, ensuring that water isn’t viewed as a product is crucial to protecting the state’s water resources, said Jim Olson, founder and president of the environmental group For Love of Water.

“A lot of states are not realizing what’s coming and what is happening,” he said. “I don’t care who you are or what political side of the aisle you’re on, what business you’re in. Unless you’re trying to export water for a lot of money, you want public trust protection for all of us.”

The legislation would need to pass the Republican-led House and Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

Related stories:

How Michigan water becomes a product inside Nestle’s Ice Mountain plant

Michigan township votes to continue court battle with Nestle

More pumping could harm wetlands, suggests Nestle’s own study

In Detroit, Nestle holds private roundtable on future of water

Why Nestle really wants more Michigan groundwater

Whitmer proposes $120M for Michigan drinking water