Environment
Whitmer looking at many options in Flint
Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer’s team today said she will work with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver’s office to continue ensuring that Flint residents have access to safe drinking water. “We’re working with the mayor of Flint,” the Democrat said when asked by a reporter during a media call this morning whether she’ll be involved in offering bottled […]
Whitmer appoints most cabinet members, with one Snyder holdover
Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced 10 key appointments to her administration, including new directors in charge of regulating the environment, roads and state police. There is one holdover from the GOP Gov. Rick Snyder administration. After campaigning on a promise to “fix the damn roads” and clean up Michigan water as it struggles with […]
Whitmer pledges to bring back bottled water for Flint
After the Gov. Rick Snyder administration made the call in April to stop giving out bottled water to Flint residents, his successor said she will bring the program back. The Republican’s administration cited almost two years of test results showing falling lead levels in city tap water. But many Flint leaders and residents remain alarmed […]
Missed anything in the busiest Lame Duck ever? Catch up here.
Members of the 99th Michigan Legislature made history this year, sending more than 400 pieces of legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder in the body’s busiest lame-duck session in history. Joe Borgstrom, principal of the Lansing economic development firm Place+Main, summed up a lot of the criticism of this frenzied Lame Duck session in a recent tweet. […]
Updated: $1.3B budget supplementals shoot to governor
Updated, 8:10 a.m. Dec. 21 In the wee hours of the morning, the Michigan House voted in bipartisan fashion on supplemental budget spending totaling more than $1.3 billion. The Senate gave its final stamp of approval, sending bills to Gov. Rick Snyder. The legislation includes funding for PFAS cleanup, the Soo Locks and school districts […]
Updated: Snyder to decide on deregulating wetlands
Gov. Rick Snyder will now decide on a plan to deregulate some small wetlands that could be filled and dredged after the Legislature approved the bill during a marathon session stretching into early Friday morning. But the bill was dramatically scaled back in the version the Michigan House voted on late into the last Lame Duck session […]
Snyder expected to OK tax shift for schools, roads, environmental cleanup
After a day of dealmaking, Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign a budget supplemental that will shift revenue from the School Aid Fund (SAF) to carry out road repairs and environmental cleanups. House Bill 4991, sponsored by state Rep. Ed Canfield (R-Sebewaing), passed the Michigan House early this morning in a close 56-51 vote. […]
DEQ staffers tell Snyder to veto weaker enviro cleanup standards
In a rare show of opposition, 82 state employees working for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have urged Gov. Rick Snyder to veto legislation they say would present “unacceptable risks” to the public. The employees wrote that proposed changes “are based solely on the cost of cleanups” for responsible companies and “have no basis […]
Senate shifts $200M from schools for roads, environmental cleanup
Updated, 7:20 p.m. The Michigan Senate today passed legislation that would divert sales tax dollars that traditionally go to the School Aid Fund (SAF) to fix roads and do environmental cleanups. The House is expected to take action on what is supposed to be the last day of legislative action in Lansing. After the vote, […]
Snyder signs deer sterilization bill
Gov. Rick Snyder today signed legislation that would bar municipalities besides Ann Arbor from sterilizing deer for more than three years. The Republican governor gave his blessing to House Bill 5321, sponsored by Rep. Triston Cole (R-Mancelona), which blocks the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from issuing sterilization permits for large game until April […]
New PFAS report issued as Snyder looks for cleanup funding
A new scientific report from a state task force issued nearly 20 recommendations for Michigan to attempt to reign in harmful chemicals known as PFAS. Conducted by Gov. Rick Snyder’s PFAS Science Advisory Panel, the report first suggests that the state identify where PFAS is contaminating drinking water supplies and implement a strategy to remediate […]
Snyder’s Enbridge panel OKs plan to keep Line 5 flowing
Canadian energy company Enbridge won state approval Wednesday to replace an oil pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac after a new panel charged with overseeing the plan gave its blessing. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources made the announcement just hours after the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority’s (MSCA) inaugural meeting was held Wednesday afternoon […]