Cherry backs water fee for MI college scholarships

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Lt. Gov. John Cherry wants to bring back the Michigan Promise Grant scholarship by charging companies that sell bottled water from Michigan a fee.

Cherry told reporters Monday that a $10-cent-per-bottle fee would raise around $118 million. That's enough to reinstate the scholarship and provide money for wetlands regulation and possibly Great Lakes restoration.

Deb Muchmore, a spokeswoman for Nestle Waters North America Inc., says the proposal would force Nestle to lay off workers and possibly move out of state. She says if the company can't produce bottled water in Michigan at a competitive price, it will go elsewhere.

Cherry says water in Michigan belongs to all citizens. He compared the bottled-water fee to the severance fee paid on oil extracted in the state.