Tag: EGLE

Michigan taxpayers left holding the bag for contamination caused by now-defunct businesses

Published on October 17th, 2024 by - Blog Posts

If there was ever any doubt that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, a recent estimate of the cost to Michigan taxpayers of cleaning up environmental contamination should have dispelled it.

According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), there are some 13,000 so-called orphan sites across the state of Michigan. These are sites where no party responsible for the contamination can be identified. That is typically because the contamination happened so long ago it is unclear who caused the pollution and/or the potentially responsible parties are bankrupt.

In its new video highlighting EGLE’s efforts to address these orphan sites, the agency estimates that the cost to taxpayers of doing so could be as high as $13 billion.

FLOW and the MSU Institute for Water Research recently issued a report analyzing the costs of not cleaning up many contaminated sites. So why doesn’t the state have an up-to-date strategy for preventing contamination in the first place? Until it does, the public cost of cleanup is likely to grow beyond $13 billion as pollution taints more groundwater.

Other states have made more effort. Some have groundwater coordinating councils that bring together the state agencies that deal with groundwater. (In Michigan, four principal departments have some level of groundwater responsibility.) That helps assure a holistic view from state governments in groundwater policy and management. Michigan does not have such a council.

Some states, like Iowa, have groundwater protection acts that make education about and prevention of groundwater pollution a priority. Michigan has no such law.

And some states, like Minnesota, have groundwater monitoring programs that serve as an early warning system and design and enable the development of strategies for best management practices to prevent contamination. Michigan has no such program.

Since 2018, FLOW has been calling for a comprehensive state groundwater strategy. We will step up those efforts in the months ahead. We can do no less for a resource that provides drinking water for 45% of Michigan residents.

FLOW Coalition Calls on EGLE to Deny Groundwater Discharge Permit for Fremont Regional Digester

Published on August 7th, 2024 by - Reports & Media Releases

Traverse City, Mich.— On Friday, August 2, 2024 FLOW submitted comprehensive legal and technical comments (PDF) to the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment (“EGLE”), calling on EGLE to deny a groundwater discharge permit for the Fremont Regional Digester owned by Generate Upcycle, a Delaware corporation.

The Coalition of signatories includes Fremont area farmer Kathleen Morrison, Michigan Farmers Union, Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, Michiganders for a Just Farming System, Progress Michigan, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, and U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, who has recently drawn attention to the need for improved public participation in environmental permitting. The FLOW Coalition requested a public hearing in or near Fremont, and coordination with the Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate, to initiate a comprehensive evaluation of measures needed to operate the digester safely.

The Fremont Regional Digester generates biogas from commercial food waste, factory farm waste, and other sources. The byproduct is a more concentrated liquid waste called digestate. The digestate is applied to fields, where it can create toxic runoff, leach to groundwater, and negatively affect water quality.

EGLE granted Generate Upcycle a waiver of the required hydrogeological report on its land application fields, based on Generate’s representations that the “purpose of the hydrogeological report can be met without the submittal of the full hydrogeologic report due to the infrequent use of each land application location.”1 On the contrary, the use of hundreds of different application sites, each with different risks, indicates the need for an exceptionally comprehensive hydrogeological report. The waiver decision is not supported by any analysis, and casts serious doubt on the effectiveness of the entire Draft Permit. Geologist recommendations developed as part of the permitting process show that spreading digestate on fields without the required setbacks – and in some cases, even with setbacks – creates “very high risk” of groundwater contamination.2

Generate Upcycle claims that feedstocks for the digester are only “food waste, food waste waters, food byproducts and food sludges from food manufacturers and consumer packaged food and beverages that have been depackaged”, but lagoon effluent testing shows metals, nutrients, sodium, chloride, and other contaminants in vastly higher concentrations than Michigan discharge standards allow.

Michigan law requires Generate Upcycle to analyze “feasible and prudent alternatives consistent with the reasonable requirements of the public health, safety, and welfare.” However, according to Generate Upcycle, “We do not discharge to the groundwater. A feasibility of alternatives to discharging to the groundwater is not applicable.” The Coalition questions how Generate can diligently avoid discharges it considers imaginary.

In December 2023, Generate Upcycle president Bill Caesar3 of Houston, a former McKinsey consultant, went public with his objections to EGLE’s permitting action, telling Michigan news outlets that the Facility would be forced to close.4 In Caesar’s words:

Not only are the proposed changes to our permit prohibitively expensive, because huge portions of the fields we currently use will be off limits, but these regulations are also operationally impossible for us to comply with…After months of discussion with legal we made the very difficult decision to cease operations at the end of December unless and until it can operate under a rational regulatory approach…I don’t think that we’re going to find a solution with the approach that EGLE has propositioned us with…

EGLE Director Phil Roos rebutted many of Caesar’s allegations, including that the agency was being “aggressive” with Generate Upcycle, in a November 30, 2023 letter.5 Caesar’s position that regulatory compliance is too costly for the Facility and its parent company, Generate Capital, is remarkable in light of the firm’s “sustainability” branding6 – and financing. In January 2024, Bloomberg reported on a $1.5 billion investment in Generate Capital by the California teachers’ retirement fund and other institutional investors in “clean” energy.

The problems with the Fremont Digester aren’t just a case of one bad apple. Industrial scale biodigesters create vast waste streams full of concentrated toxins – a threat to land, air, and water. The FLOW Coalition calls on EGLE to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to handle this technology in a way that protects us all.

NOTES:

1 EGLE Groundwater Basis for Decision memo, July 20, 2023, at 3.
2 See Geologist Recommendations Fact/Decision Sheet, Table 7, Comparison of Risk Evaluations Based on Isolation Distances.
3 https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-caesar-020688/
4 Kyle Davidson, “West Michigan Digester to Close Doors Amid Permitting Conflict with State”, Michigan Advance, Dec. 6, 2023.
5 Roos letter to Caesar, Nov. 30, 2023.
6 https://generatecapital.com/

Affirmed: EGLE’s authority to issue General Permit with stronger conditions for factory farms

Published on August 1st, 2024 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

July 31, 2024: Michigan Supreme Court affirms EGLE’s authority to issue General Permit with stronger conditions for factory farms

Traverse City, Mich.— FLOW applauds the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision yesterday, rejecting the Court of Appeals’ dangerously flawed ruling in Michigan Farm Bureau v. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Unsatisfied with permit terms that have allowed their industry to pollute Lake Huron and Lake Erie to such an extent that, at one point, the City of Toledo had to shut down its municipal drinking water intake 2.5 miles from shore, Farm Bureau – the lobbying arm of an insurance agency – and its allies had sued to block slightly firmer permit standards.

The lower court held that EGLE’s 2020 Clean Water Act General Permit for Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) should have been challenged by Farm Bureau as an unpromulgated rule. The General Permit is an environmental compliance document developed by EGLE, whose terms CAFOs agree to abide by under a Certificate of Coverage. Affirming this ruling would have meant that EGLE could never tighten its CAFO General Permit, because in 2006 the Legislature stripped EGLE of its authority to enact new water protection regulations. A bill is pending in the current Legislature to restore that vital governmental function.

Thanks to this protracted litigation, factory farms have enjoyed an additional four years of lax regulation, continuing to dump pollution into Michigan’s ground and surface water.

Now the Michigan Supreme Court has held that EGLE acted within its authority to amend the CAFO General Permit. Stronger permit terms will take effect immediately. Litigating every attempt to reduce factory farm pollution is standard procedure for Farm Bureau and industrial ag, but this time, thanks to Michigan’s spirited defense of our freshwater heritage, they failed.

FLOW has vigorously supported AG Nessel and EGLE in their defense of the 2020 permit, including submitting an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the Michigan Supreme Court in partnership with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Michigan Environmental Council, the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, Freshwater Future, Food and Water Watch, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

FLOW looks forward to prompt issuance of a more protective 2025 CAFO General Permit, so that Michiganders may begin to make up some of the ground lost on water quality due to this procedural odyssey. FLOW and its many supporters and allies remain committed to this goal, and we are grateful for the leadership of AG Nessel, Gov. Whitmer, and EGLE in this fight.

State Expands Clean Water Funding; More Funding Needed

Published on May 2nd, 2024 by - Blog Posts

On Earth Day, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced a $290 million expansion of the MI Clean Water Plan with proceeds from the bipartisan, voter-approved 2002 Great Lakes Water Quality Protection Bond. The funds will expand state low-interest loans to local governments for drinking water and water management resources for their residents through an expansion of the state’s low-interest loan offerings.

Governor Whitmer said that during her tenure in office the state has invested over $4 billion to upgrade drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater facilities, supporting 57,000 jobs, but “we know we still have more work to do. “

This financing supports critical water infrastructure projects like lead service line removals, rehabilitation and upgrades to drinking water and wastewater plants, improvements to sewer systems, and much more. The $290 million will be split between the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and will be available through loans and low interest financing this year.

Even with the $290 million, the need from communities across the state for drinking water and sewage treatment far exceeds available resources.

  • In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 EGLE provided historic financing and funding opportunities to communities but was still only able to fund $1.7 billion of the over $5 billion in community requests.
  • This funding shortfall will continue in FY 2025, where the department received over $3.5 billion in project requests from communities, but expects to have less than $720 million available after exhausting significant one-time federal resources.
  • Most of the state’s water systems are over 50 years old, and a significant portion are approaching 100 years of service life. Recent reports have highlighted that Michigan has an annual gap of between $860 million to $1.1 billion in water infrastructure needs due to decades of deferred maintenance.

Court upholds permit denial for private boat basin and channel on Long Lake

Published on April 11th, 2024 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

Citizen action and public engagement safeguards Michigan waters

Most everyone familiar with the beauty and majesty of Long Lake regard it as an exceptional example of the stunning natural features that are so abundant in Northwest Lower Michigan. The largest lake in Grand Traverse County and the headwaters of the Platte River, Long Lake harbors five exquisite islands that enhance every lakeshore view and vista.

Recently, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) received an application for the construction of a boat storage basin that would significantly impair Long Lake’s ecology, shoreline, and wetlands. The proposed project would entail dredging 292 cubic yards of bottomland materials to create a private entrance channel 88 feet long and 33 feet wide.

The dredged channel would provide connecting access to the inland boat basin, requiring the excavation of more than 3,200 additional cubic yards of material landward of the ordinary high water mark. In addition, the proposed project would include a 40-foot-long by 5-foot-wide boardwalk, supported by helical piers, to be constructed across 200 feet of wetlands.

EGLE denied the permit based on those impacts, as well the determination that the dredging would disturb fish habitat and interfere with littoral currents. The permit applicant, the Carrie C. Barnes Trust, appealed, much to the consternation of neighboring lakefront property owners. EGLE’s administrative law judge (ALJ) affirmed the permit denial in every particular.

When the Barnes Trust appealed the ALJ’s decision to EGLE’s Environmental Permit Review Commission (EPRC), FLOW was asked to weigh in. After reviewing the extensive record, FLOW provided detailed comments on the facts and applicable law. The EPRC unanimously upheld the ALJ’s decision.

But the Carrie C. Barnes Trust wasn’t done. The trust filed yet another appeal to the 13th Circuit Court in Grand Traverse County.

The good news is that on Tuesday, April 9, Judge Charles M. Hamlyn affirmed EGLE’s permit denial.

As a result, a project that would have done significant, permanent harm to Long Lake has been averted. And the citizens who would have been most impacted successfully joined together in concerted action to maintain the health, character, and ecology of Long Lake. FLOW commends their efforts and is proud to have supported them.

Michigan eliminates counterproductive environmental rules committee

Published on February 29th, 2024 by - Blog Posts

The Michigan Legislature recently completed action on a bill eliminating the Environmental Rules Review Committee (ERRC). The ERRC gave polluters and developers an avenue for stopping, slowing, or weakening proposed environmental protection rules. Six of the eleven seats on the committee six were designated for industries regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

On Tuesday, February 27 Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation into law ( http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2023-HB-4826 ).

The ERRC was created in the final year of former Governor Rick Snyder’s administration, to allow parties dissatisfied with proposed environmental rules to challenge them. This duplicated processes that were already in place, such as the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

In effect, the ERRC gave opponents of proposed environmental rules an extra bite of the apple. The elimination of the committee will restore the ample review processes that existed before it was created.

“I’ve always been an advocate for protecting our environment. By removing the Environmental Rules Review Committee — a committee mostly made up of corporate polluters — from statute, we are able to ensure that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy can fulfill its mission of protecting our air, water, land and people,” said state Representative Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy). “I’m glad to see this bill make its way to the finish line. We are putting the health and well-being of Michiganders before corporate profit.”

See also:

Michigan Advance: Whitmer signs bills axing controversial environmental rules review committee

Michigan Public: Environmental Rules Review Committee repeal heads to governor

A Festering Issue: Why Michigan Can’t Afford to Cave to Big Manure

Published on February 21st, 2024 by - Blog Posts

The Battle Over Regulating Biodigesters

The current West Michigan controversy surrounding permitting for a facility that processes pre-consumer food waste into fuel is a stark reminder of the delicate balance between environmental protection and economic interests. While proponents of the facility tout its benefits in terms of waste reduction and energy production, a closer look reveals serious questions about the true cost – and actual color – of this “green” technology.

This challenge to biodigester permitting is the proverbial camel’s nose under the edge of the tent when it comes to another kind of biodigester – the type that processes the massive waste stream generated by livestock confinements: a potent cocktail of manure, food scraps, and other organic materials, their toxicity concentrated by the digestate process. While proponents claim that digestate can be safely applied to farmland as fertilizer, there simply is not enough farmland in Michigan to absorb the amount of sewage processed by a proposed wave of taxpayer-subsidized manure biodigesters. Hundreds of millions of gallons of urine and feces, more than the human sewage of all ten million Michiganders combined.

The potential for groundwater pollution is enormous. Manure biodigester waste contains high levels of nitrates, phosphorus, and other harmful contaminants that leach into the ground and contaminate drinking water sources when applied to land. This is particularly worrisome in Michigan, where a significant portion of the population relies on private wells for drinking water.

There simply is not enough farmland in Michigan to absorb the amount of sewage processed by a proposed wave of taxpayer-subsidized manure biodigesters.

Another concern is air pollution. The anaerobic digestion process releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Applying digestate to land can lead to emissions of ammonia, a harmful air pollutant that contributes to respiratory problems.

Long-term impacts of applying digestate to soil are not fully understood. Some studies show that it can lead to soil compaction and reduced fertility. Others raise concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria developing in digestate-treated soils, posing a threat to human and animal health.

In the face of these concerns, Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has taken the right first step to protect human health and the environment, by requiring facilities to comply with the standard testing and monitoring requirements already in place for municipal sewage, and implement measures to mitigate the risks of environmental contamination.

This is not just about one digester in West Michigan. It’s about setting a precedent for how we manage animal waste and develop genuinely sustainable energy in the 21st century.

However, digester operators are pushing back, arguing that these common sense regulations are too costly and burdensome. They claim that regulation will force them to shut down, resulting in job losses and lost revenue, but job projections for most biodigesters are minimal. This is really about investor profits. The deep pockets behind pricey manure biodigesters are in line for huge state and federal tax subsidies. Then, when the facilities are built, they’ll shift the environmental costs of their operations onto the public in the form of polluted water, contaminated soil, and degraded air quality. Taxpayers will also continue to cough up funds for water quality programs to counteract the pollution caused by land application of digestate.

The Great Lakes state of Michigan cannot afford to bear these burdens. The environmental and public health risks associated with poorly regulated digesters are simply too great. We must stand firm and ensure that these facilities are held accountable for the full cost of their operations, including the cost of protecting the environment and public health.

This is not just about one digester in West Michigan. It’s about setting a precedent for how we manage animal waste and develop genuinely sustainable energy in the 21st century. We can’t afford to sacrifice human health, quality of life, and environmental protection on the altar of short-term economic gain for a handful of wealthy investors masquerading as “green” energy champions.
It’s time for our regulators and elected officials to reject the siren song of Big Manure.

Free water well testing now available in Michigan

Published on September 6th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

Michigan households relying on private wells may be drinking polluted groundwater without realizing it. A new state program aims to change that.

Common water quality concerns include coliform bacteria, nitrate, nitrite, fluoride, chloride, sulfate, sodium, hardness, and metals like aluminum, antimony, arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, iron, manganese, mercury, selenium, uranium, and zinc.

Now, thanks to a new $5 million allocation in funding from the state legislature, residents can get their water tested for FREE through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and their local health departments. (Your local health department can provide information about drinking water concerns in your area, and what testing is best for your water source.)

Request your free sample kit at http://www.michigan.gov/EGLEprivatewells

This is just the beginning of addressing Michigan’s groundwater emergency, but it’s a great first step in the right direction.

Michigan has the most private drinking water wells drilled annually of any state. About 45% of the state’s population depends on groundwater for its drinking water. FLOW has been a strong advocate of removing cost barriers to well testing, as part of our groundwater policy agenda:

“Thousands of Michigan citizens relying on private wells may be drinking polluted groundwater without realizing it. The state should remove cost barriers to testing of such wells initiated by their owners. The Michigan Legislature should appropriate funding to enable owners of residential drinking water wells to obtain testing of well water samples.” The Sixth Great Lake (p. 17), September 2018

“WATER TESTING: Michigan homeowners with private wells are not served by routine water testing and may unknowingly consume contaminated water. The state should create a fund to assist such homeowners, largely in rural areas, in regular water well testing.” Deep Threats to Our Sixth Great Lake (p. 21), May 2021

Download our groundwater fact sheet to learn more (PDF).

 

 

 

Stop doing that, or else we’ll tell you to stop again: BASF polluting the Detroit River

Published on August 29th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

When you get a speeding ticket, you don’t get 43 years to pay it. And when you contaminate a river with toxic materials — a much bigger hazard than going 45 in a 40 – you shouldn’t get 43 years to stop doing it and pay a fine.

But there’s a double standard in Michigan when it comes to toxic discharge from the BASF facility in Wyandotte. Just upstream from a public drinking water intake for the city of Wyandotte, the company has been discharging 3,000 gallons per hour of polluted groundwater into the Detroit River for decades.

It’s been 43 years since the state first ordered BASF to stop polluting the river. 

The trouble is, the state has never enforced the command.

Meanwhile, a toxic stew that now includes everything from PFAS to mercury is coughed up by the old industrial site 24/7/365. Some of these chemicals are not even monitored, even though they are upstream from the drinking water intake.

Last week, at a public meeting to explain the status of the problem, well-meaning public servants from the U.S. EPA and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) told citizens that it will be another three years before BASF begins construction of what is being called the permanent remedy. This is appalling.

Every day that BASF is allowed to contaminate the river is another violation of federal and state clean water laws. According to state statute, the company is theoretically liable for penalties of $25,000 per day. 

The mistakes of previous generations of state officials can’t be blamed on those in decision-making positions in 2023. But unless they – and their bosses at the top of EPA and EGLE today – take action, the degradation of the Detroit River will be the result of their failure to enforce the law. And the public will suffer.

Here’s what you can do:

  • Learn more about the history and current state of the BASF Wyandotte pollution violations via this website.
  • Send an email to the Michigan Attorney General (Dana Nessel (miag@michigan.gov) asking her to immediately enforce provisions of the state Court Order with BASF that her predecessor Frank Kelley fought for and won in U.S. District Court in 1985.
  • Alert the new EGLE Director Phil Roos (roosp@michigan.gov) of the urgent need for his agency to stop BASF from discharging 3,000 gallons per hour of toxic contaminated groundwater to the Great Lakes in Wyandotte, and ask the new director to take action to protect public health and the health of the Detroit River.

FLOW commends new EGLE appointments

Published on July 20th, 2023 by - Blog Posts, News

FLOW Statement Commending Appointments of EGLE Director Phil Roos and EGLE Chief of Staff Kara Cook

Traverse City, MI – FLOW commends the appointment of business entrepreneur and strategist, Phil Roos, to serve as director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

“Phil Roos is an outstanding strategist and environmental thought leader who is just the person to lead Michigan’s top environmental agency to protect our air, water, and land resources. We are fortunate to have a leader like Phil who deeply understands the systemic challenges and solutions necessary to craft during the most important decade of our lifetime.”

“Kara Cook understands policy and she knows the Capitol policy process. She has strong environmental values. With prior experience both in the Governor’s office and nonprofit environmental policy work in Lansing, Kara Cook has a deep understanding of the environmental priorities of the Whitmer Administration and will be a key asset for EGLE Director Roos and staff.”