Citing inadequate legal authorization, an incomplete application, and lack of a comprehensive state review, FLOW and two Straits-area citizen groups called today in formal comments on the State of Michigan to deny pending permits sought by Enbridge to construct and operate a roughly four mile-long tunnel under the Great Lakes.
Voting season has already begun in an election that will have much to do with protection of our water in Michigan and the nation. FLOW does not take positions on individual candidates, but we do remind voters to exercise their power in order to protect water and the environment generally. A statewide ballot proposal in Michigan, a Great Lakes agenda for the winner of the presidential election, and races for the Michigan House of Representatives all have clear environmental implications.
When Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969—the same year Michigan’s Rouge River blazed because of waste oil—America had had enough of worsening water pollution. Public opinion strongly favored tougher laws and enforcement to protect water. It took a little more than three years, but on October 18,1972, overriding a veto by President Richard Nixon, Congress enacted what has come to be known as the federal Clean Water Act. Along with considerable federal aid for construction of municipal sewage treatment facilities, the Act called for water quality standards and action by the states to implement the law and achieve the benchmarks.
Today, October 12, is Indigenous People’s Day, a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates our histories and cultures.
On October 1, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced $500 million in investments in clean water. Three features of this investment package are particularly welcome. The severe decline in federal and state grants for water infrastructure since the late 1970s has led to an over-reliance on water ratepayers to repay bonds and loans used to finance much-needed infrastructure projects, resulting in soaring water rates which are unaffordable for households struggling to make ends meet.
Pollution is a health threat to all, but in many respects, children are the most vulnerable. October 8 is the fifth annual Children’s Environmental Health Day, calling attention to the need to strengthen environmental protections for young people.
A new climate action plan released by Michigan Governor Whitmer is attracting both praise and calls for faster action from environmental organizations. Announced September 23, the Governor’s plan calls for a carbon-neutral Michigan economy by the year 2050. That makes Michigan the ninth state to commit to a carbon-neutral economy.
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 29, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will host four online public hearings and receive public comment on the expected wetland and wastewater impacts of constructing and operating Enbridge’s proposed, roughly four mile-long oil tunnel under the Great Lakes. The tunnel would house a new Line 5 pipeline… Read more »
FLOW has joined environmental allies in seeking to defend the state of Michigan’s new initiative that seeks to curb water pollution by large factory farms. Led by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), the coalition seeks to intervene in a challenge brought by the agribusiness lobby to the water pollution-control permit in order to raise legal issues on behalf of Michigan residents.
By Jim Olson In the coming weeks, Liesl Clark, the director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)—and ultimately, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer—will make the final decision required by state law on a Nestlé water bottling permit to remove another 210 million gallons of groundwater a year virtually for free from… Read more »
