Paae 6-Saturday, May 5.1979-The Michigan Daily
State Senate defeats
proposed additions
to wetlands bill
By ADRIENNE LYONS
After five hours of intense debate
the state Senate in Lansing Wednesday
night defeated a series of proposed
amendments to the wetlands protection
bill and postponed further discussion
until Monday night when it might vote
on the act.
Sen. Kerry Kammer (D-Pontiac)
said he was pleased with the bill in its
modified version, since it protects both
wetlands and wetlands property
owners. "It's in excellent shape," he
said. "I'd be satisfied if it passed in it's
current form."
THE BILL IS designed to prevent
owners of wetlands, which include
swamps, marshes, and bogs, from
filling, dredging, developing, or
draining surface water without a per-
mit from the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR).
According to environmentalists,
wetlands provide flood controls,
pollution treatment for streams and
lakes, and wildlife habitats. Opponents
to the bill, however, believe its passage
would infringe on the rights of property-
owners to dispose of their land. For ins-
tance, the bill would prevent mining
operations from dumping refuse in
wetlands and prohibit lumbering firms
from building roads across wetlands for
access to forests. Included among the
amendments passed were:
" the creation of a five-member
Wetlands Appeal Board to review cases
when permits were denied;
* a provision for the DNR to make an
inventory of all wetlands in Michigan;
and,
* notification of wetlands' owners of
the possible change in the status of their
property.
TYPICAL OF THE opposition's effor-
ts to stop the bill was an amendment
proposed by Sen. Joseph Mack (D-
Ironwood) which would have allowed
miners to dump refuse without a per-
mit. Mack claimed that the mining in-
dustry and the farming industry were
not being treated equally in the bill. The
amendment was narrowly defeated by
a 14-12 margin.
One amendment, submitted by Sen.
John Mowat, Jr. (R-Adrian) would
have exempted "activities in a wetland
of five acres or less" from the bill's
limitations. Although it was resoun-
dingly defeated 16-8, a similar amen-
dment proposed later by Kammer and
Sen. John Hertel (D-Harper Woods),
subsequently passed. The measure, ac-
cording to Sen. Edward Pierce (D-Ann
Arbor), would protect small wetlands
owners from inadvertently breaking a
law which they might not know about.
Wednesday's session followed an
earlier, closed meeting among some of
the senators. In it, a package of six new
amendments was hammered out.
The Senate could make a final vote on
the bill Monday night. If it approves the
measure, the bill will be sent to the
House.
'Typical' American family:
annual income $16,000
From The Associated Press
Are you part of a "typical" American
family?
Government economists, industry
researchers, and private pollsters
spend millions of dollars studying the
way we live, what we spend and who we
are.
It's hard to compare individuals to
statistical averages, but Citibank, the
nation's second-biggest commercial
Daily Official Bulletin
Saturday, May 5, 1979
SUMMER PLACEMENT
3200 SAES-764-4117
Conlin Travel Agency, Ann Arbor. Will interview
Mon., May 7 from 1 a.m. to 5 p.m. You must be
mobile because you could be placed in an airport in
any part of the country. You will meet and assist
travelers upon arrival, etc. Further details availble.
Registerin personor by phone.
Annunreent:
Sass Engr. Co., Howell, Mi. Openings for in-
strumentmen for a survey crew. Details available.
bank, has put together some facts and
figures to give you some idea of where
you stand in relation to the rest of the
country.
Here are some things to look at:
INCOME
In 1977, the latest year for which
complete figures, are available, the
median family income was $16,009. Half
of all U.S. families earned more and
half earned less.
Where you live makes a difference.
The median income was $20,110 in the
suburbs of large cities; $14,677 in large
central cities; and $13,789 in non-
metropolitan areas.
WHEN FAMILY incomes are divided
into fifths, the figures show that people
in the top one-fifth or 20 per cent had in-
comes over $26,000 in 1977. Their in-
comes accounted for 42 per cent of total
U.S. personal income. The head of the
household in one-fourth of the top
families classified himself or herself as
Auditions for
"TERROR OF LIGHT"
by Charles Williams
Monday & Tuesday, May 7 & 8
8:00 pm
at Canterbury Loft
332 . State (2nd floor)
Performance Dates June 14-18
6 men