Snyder to make infrastructure funding proposals

Gov. Rick Snyder is preparing a major talk on transportation and infrastructure that may include new fees to pay for road projects, some privatization — and long overdue work on outdated sewage systems.

The Detroit News reports:

Snyder and his officials are working on a package of proposed reforms. But according to people familiar with the issue, other initiatives under discussion include:

Raising more state revenue for roads, possibly through a hike in vehicle registration fees, among other measures.

Increasing competition for highway maintenance, with public agencies invited to bid against private firms.

Streamlining the use of $650 million in bond money for cities to separate their storm and sanitary sewers.

Creating a regional transit authority that would include Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, and possibly also a larger swath of southeastern Michigan.

The problem of combined storm and sewage systems has long been a serious one for Michigan municipalities, resulting in the release of nearly 15 billion gallons of raw or partially treated sewage into the state’s lakes and rivers.