A group of local elected officials continue to persistently pursue a resolution to Oakland County’s dumping of partially treated and raw sewage into Macomb County waterways.

A contingent of nine Republican state representatives from Macomb and Oakland counties last week requested a meeting with Phil Roos, director of the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, about Oakland’s ongoing discharges of wastewater from the George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Facility into the Red Run Drain and the Clinton River, and ultimately Lake St. Clair. Their efforts are supported by Macomb County officials — notably Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller and county board Chair Don Brown.

“As you are aware, there have been longstanding concerns from Macomb County officials, including Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, about the environmental and public health impacts of these discharges,” says the letter sent Tuesday. “The issue has escalated to the point where it is no longer merely a local concern but a matter of regional significance, affecting water quality, public health, and the environment in both Oakland and Macomb counties. It is imperative that we address these concerns collaboratively to find a sustainable solution that protects our waterways and communities.”

A spokesperson for Roos said he was at a conference last week and could not respond.

At the top of the list of four topics officials want to discuss is Oakland’s compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which expired last October and under which the Kuhn Basin continues to operate, and how the state is monitoring it.

The permit sets limits on the discharge of partially treated wastewater, known as Combined Sewer Overflows. Miller has cited several instances in which Oakland has discharged sewage excessively exceeding the permit’s E. coli limits into the Red Run Drain from the Kuhn Basin, located in Madison Heights.

Excessive discharges emit a stench along the drain and Clinton River, is a safety hazard and, officials believe, contributes to the accumulation of muck along the lakeshore and the closure of beaches.

The lawmakers want to learn “the current status of the (basin’s) discharge permits, including any instances of non-compliance, and how EGLE plans to ensure strict adherence to environmental standards moving forward.”

One of the signatories, state Rep. Tom Kuhn of Sterling Heights, whose district crosses over the county line, said the Kuhn Basin is operating under a plan created in 2000.

“Let’s get a new plan as part of the permit, and have that new plan deal with the CSO issue,” he said.

Officials acknowledge the cost of solving the problem will be high as the most reasonable method would be to expand the capacity of the Kuhn Basin, and the state should help out financially.

“It will be expensive,” Kuhn said. “Certainly clean lakes and streams are worth the cost.”

Macomb County, the city of Warren and Clinton Township have spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years to drastically reduce CSOs in Macomb County.

Rep. Mark Tisdel of Rochester Hills suggested the state use of some the $35.7 million it is receiving this year from Inflation Reduction Act’s Transmission Siting and Economic Development Grant Program.

The lawmakers also want to discuss collaboration between the two counties, “strategies to foster better cooperation between Oakland and Macomb counties, including equitable cost-sharing arrangements and joint initiatives to mitigate the impact of wastewater discharges on shared waterways,” they say in the letter.

Also discussed would be transparency and communication: “Enhancing communication with the public and local officials about the steps being taken to address these concerns, and how EGLE will ensure that all stakeholders are informed and involved in the decision-making process,” the letter says.

“We believe that a productive dialogue with EGLE is essential to addressing this issue effectively and ensuring that the residents of both Oakland and Macomb counties can enjoy safe and clean water,” the lawmakers conclude the letter with.

Kuhn said he is “pretty confident” Roos will agree to meet with the lawmakers.

The group also includes state reps. Alicia St. Germaine of Harrison Township, Jay DeBoyer of Clay Township, Jaime Greene of Richmond, Doug Wozniak of Shelby Township, Joe Aragona of Macomb Township, Donni Steele of Orion Township and Mike Harris of Waterford Township.

The lawmakers also sponsored or co-sponsored bills that will be introduced this week in the state House of Representatives.

HB 5917, sponsored by St. Germaine, requires a county seeking a CSO permit to gain approval from a neighboring county that is impacted by CSOs.

The second bill, HB 5918, sponsored by DeBoyer, adds notification requirements and fines that would require a county that discharges sewer overflows into a contiguous county to notify the impacted county “as soon as possible or within 24 hours before the event,” and the impacted county must provide permission “as soon as possible, or within 24 hours after the alert is received,” according to a bill summary.

Also under HB5918:

• If the discharging county does not provide notification or discharges before permission is granted, it could be fined up to $500,000.

• A county that discharges sewer overflow that exceeds it “contaminate limit” is subject to a $5 million fine, or 20 cents per gallon.

• Any fines paid by the offending county would go into the Discharge Recovery Fund, money that would go to a county that is impacted by unpermitted sewer discharges.

While the current group of state representatives is composed of Republicans, the lawmakers said they hope to involve Democrats and state senators from both parties.

Tisdel pointed out if a Republican-majority county was dumping sewage into a Democratic-majority county, “They would be screaming that Republicans don’t care about the environment and Democrats do.”

Macomb officials are especially pleased that state reps from Oakland County have joined the effort.

Areas of Oakland are in the Clinton River Watershed.

Tisdel said he grew up along Lake Huron north of Port Huron and is a strong proponent of maintaining the quality the state’s waterways and believes lawmakers throughout the state should too.

“This is very real to me and can be easily made real to every Michigan resident,” he said. “You don’t need a computer to see what’s going on in the Red Run Drain and the sludge build up in Lake St. Clair.”

Addressing the problem, “is what’s right for the state of Michigan and what’s good for the state of Michigan.”