Environment
Kildee embraces role as dean of Michigan House Dem delegation
Updated, 2:10 p.m. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) hasn’t just ascended to leadership on Capitol Hill as chief deputy whip for the new majority Democratic caucus. He’s also the senior member of the Michigan House Democratic delegation after the Dean of the House now-former U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) stepped down amid a sexual harassment […]
House votes to kill environmental order, Whitmer vows to defend it
Early assurances of bipartisanship in Michigan’s new era of divided government may be coming to a halt. On Wednesday, legislative Republicans sought to undo Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new executive order meant to better protect the state’s environment, as she vowed to defend it. This comes after Michigan has been plagued by environmental crises with […]
Whitmer gets kudos from key Republican on environmental shakeup
There’s been some Republican grumbling about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s move on Monday to restructure the beleaguered Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), but a key GOP official has her back. Candice Miller, a former congresswoman who now oversees environmental and water issues for Macomb County as public works commissioner, praised Whitmer for her new Department of Environment, […]
Citing climate change, Gov. asks agency to review extreme weather plans
After an energy shortage during record-breaking cold weather in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked a state commission to investigate state preparations for extreme weather. Whitmer announced Monday her request that the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) conduct a statewide review of natural gas supplies and how they’re delivered — supplies that are crucial for […]
Whitmer joins 19 governors fighting climate change, shakes up environmental oversight
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used her executive powers on Monday to send a strong message about solving Michigan’s ongoing environmental crises and fighting climate change. Environmental groups were quick to cheer Whitmer’s two executive orders, one of which shakes up and renames the state’s beleaguered Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which has been embroiled scandals […]
‘Rotten egg’ smell traced to Detroit Marathon refinery
A pungent rotten-egg smell originated from the Marathon Petroleum refinery in southwest Detroit, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discovered this weekend. The DEQ caught wind of the odors on Saturday and promptly investigated the issue, according to a department press release. State officials traced the smell to a refinery coke-flare system and said that […]
Audit: DEQ still lags on some post-Flint drinking water requirements
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has improved, but still falls short on some post-Flint water crisis drinking water requirements, according to a new report from the Office of Auditor General (OAG) Doug Ringler. A 2016 audit uncovered DEQ officials during GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration failed to ensure that Flint applied corrosion control […]
Mackinac Island challenges Enbridge Line 5 permits
Mackinac Island is taking Michigan to court over permits issued to Canadian energy company Enbridge to build supports along an oil pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac. The legal challenges are meant to avert “catastrophic damage to the island” posed by the 66-year-old Line 5, according to a press release from Oil & Water […]
Consumers Energy fire spurs state to lower thermostat
State offices are turning down the thermostat by 5 degrees and asking residents to do the same during record-breaking sub-zero temperatures, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) announced Wednesday night. After an explosion at a Consumers Energy facility in Macomb County spurred a gas shortage, MPSC Chair Sally Talberg asked Lower Peninsula residents to turn […]
DEQ issues Line 5 permit over governor, AG opposition
Despite opposition to the project from Michigan’s new Democratic governor and attorney general, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a permit to Canadian energy company Enbridge to begin its controversial oil and natural gas pipeline tunnel project. This also comes after environmentalists have called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down the pipeline, […]
Nessel withdraws from EPA pollution lawsuits
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is withdrawing from legal battles against President Barack Obama-era rules meant to fight pollution. Nessel’s office on Friday filed to remove Michigan from two lawsuits against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One challenges the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, while the other lawsuit aims to fight limits on toxic substances emitted by […]
Flint water adviser draws on personal health trauma in helping city cope
This is 1990. She’s a 19-year-old college freshman with a healthy lifestyle. Then, suddenly, she’s in a hospital bed. Liver and kidney failure are among her overall ailments, and doctors can’t figure out why. She fearfully wonders, “Am I going to die?” What could be the cause? Think of all those industrial smokestacks on her […]