Tag: EGLE

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.”

Appreciating and Protecting Michigan’s Inland Lakes

Published on July 11th, 2022 by - Blog Posts

Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The Great Lakes rightly command our attention and affection, but maybe it’s time to take stock of Michigan’s other lake resource—the thousands of lakes distributed across the state map like freckles.

Mocked by a friend of mine as “baby lakes,” Michigan’s inland lakes span a large range of sizes and occur in a variety of environments. It’s appropriate during the state’s Lakes Appreciation Month to take pride in them.

The Michigan Lakes and Streams Association describes the state’s inland lakes as sparkling jewels. “These priceless creations of the last ice age provide unlimited high quality recreational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of our citizens and visitors to our magnificent state as well as economic opportunity for tens of thousands of Michigan residents. The near shore areas of these freshwater gems provide unique lakefront living opportunities with enhanced property values that benefit hundreds of Michigan communities and public school districts.”

As the number of inland lakefront property owners climbs, water quality is increasingly at risk. Michigan’s chapter of the North American Lake Management Society observes, “The quality of Michigan’s inland lakes is ranked among the highest in the nation. However, invasive species, nutrients and other stressors continue to threaten these lakes and shorelines.”

“These priceless creations of the last ice age provide unlimited high quality recreational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of our citizens and visitors to our magnificent state as well as economic opportunity for tens of thousands of Michigan residents. The near shore areas of these freshwater gems provide unique lakefront living opportunities with enhanced property values that benefit hundreds of Michigan communities and public school districts.”

One significant threat to inland lake water quality is failing septic systems, whose discharges of poorly treated human waste contribute to algal blooms and contaminated water. FLOW supports closing this gap by state legislative enactment of a requirement that all septic systems be inspected on a regular basis and replaced if necessary.

A tool for improving inland lake water quality is installation of natural shoreline vegetation, which can filter contaminants before they reach open water. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has advice for shoreline property owners on Michigan’s inland lakes.

“The quality of Michigan’s inland lakes is ranked among the highest in the nation. However, invasive species, nutrients and other stressors continue to threaten these lakes and shorelines.”

Now, to the statistics. 

How many inland lakes does Michigan contain? The number varies across different measuring methods. But if only bodies of water larger than 5 acres qualify, Michigan competes well with neighboring states. Minnesota, whose nickname is Land of 10,000 lakes, only edges out Michigan by a margin of 11,842 to 11,037. And Michigan’s inland lakes include “a good handful covering 1,000 acres or more.”

There is dispute over the most common lake name in Michigan. One source estimates that Mud Lake is the winner with over 300 currently or historically wearing that name. But another source says Long Lake is most common with only 21 wearing that name.

Only one state, Maryland, has not a single lake. Alaska is easily the inland lake leader in the U.S. with over 3,000 named lakes and over 3 million total.

Faster Testing Results, Few Problem Beaches

Published on May 31st, 2022 by - Blog Posts

Lexy Porter samples water from Lake Michigan at Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon for water quality testing. Photo by Valerie Wojciechowski, Grand Valley State University.

As air and water warm for summer, so do thoughts of beach time. Is it safe to get in the water?

“In Michigan, most of our beaches are doing well,” says Shannon Briggs, a toxicologist in the Water Resources Division of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). “About 4% of all samples are elevated, meaning they exceed water quality standards [for full body contact]. Over the years, about 20 to 40 beaches report multiple exceedances. There are over 1,200 beaches in Michigan and about 400 are monitored.”

A relatively new tool is adding to the confidence of local health officers that they are capturing in a timely way indicators of water quality problems at public beaches. Using the QPCR method (quantitative polymerase chain reaction, which monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule in real time), health departments can respond far more quickly in issuing advisories regarding potential threats at beaches in Michigan, often the same day samples are taken. The culture-based method for measuring the fecal bacteria E. coli, formerly the predominant method, takes a minimum of 18 hours to yield results, while QPCR takes only several hours.

A relatively new tool is adding to the confidence of local health officers that they are capturing in a timely way indicators of water quality problems at public beaches.

“It’s frustrating to use the culture-based method and come back the next day and say you shouldn’t have been swimming at this beach yesterday,” Briggs says. “We’re pleased how well the QPCR method is working for Michigan beaches.”

EGLE received approximately $280,000 in federal funds for monitoring of Great Lakes beaches and will pass on these and another $200,000 in state funds for monitoring of inland beaches this year. The money goes to local health departments, which, under the Michigan health code, are the lead agencies in monitoring public beaches. EGLE assists and supports local health agencies. 

Although there is no state mandate that local health departments monitor beaches, if they do so, they are required to submit the resulting data for use in EGLE’s Beach Guard system. The searchable database allows users to seek historical and current data at particular beaches.

The latest State of the Great Lakes report issued by the United States and Canada characterized the conditions at beaches basin-wide as “good and unchanging.” This 2019 report noted approximately 1,000 beaches along the Great Lakes shoreline are monitored for E. coli each year.

“It’s frustrating to use the culture-based method and come back the next day and say you shouldn’t have been swimming at this beach yesterday. We’re pleased how well the QPCR method is working for Michigan beaches.”

Sources of pollution for the Great Lakes can include overflow from wastewater treatment plants, runoff from the land after a heavy rainfall, improperly working septic systems, and even large flocks of water birds. An advantage of the QPCR method is that it can show markers of specific pollution sources, enabling health and environmental agencies to address those sources.

Join FLOW in Helping Michigan Create a Comprehensive Climate Plan

Published on March 3rd, 2022 by - Blog Posts, News

Zach Welcker is FLOW’s Legal Director.

By Zach Welcker

This is a difficult time to write a blog about climate change. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 is a stark reminder that humans still cannot agree to stop killing each other. How then will we ever be able to agree upon a coordinated response to global warming? This question itself is a privilege that people who are busy fighting for their lives do not have time to ask. What should those of us who have this privilege do with it?

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has bravely answered this question. In 2019, she and a bipartisan group of governors formed the U.S. Climate Alliance following former President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement. Through this alliance, the governor committed Michigan to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions levels in support of the goals of the Paris accord. The governor issued Executive Directive 2020-10–Building a Carbon-Neutral Michigan–to implement this commitment. It charges the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) with developing and implementing a “Healthy Climate Plan” to achieve Michigan’s greenhouse-gas reduction targets and otherwise prepare for and adapt to climate impacts that are now unavoidable.

EGLE’s draft MI Healthy Climate Plan is an imperfect response to this charge. Please join FLOW in helping EGLE improve the draft by emailing your public comments by the March 14 deadline to: EGLE-ClimateSolutions@Michigan.gov. We recommend requesting the following changes along with any other concerns or recommendations you may have.

  1. Transform the draft MI Healthy Climate Plan from a decarbonization plan into a comprehensive climate plan. While EGLE’s primary task under Executive Directive 2020-10 is to develop a plan to achieve carbon neutrality, the department’s charge is far broader than that. Paragraph 3 of the directive expressly states that EGLE’s implementation obligation includes “monitoring and evaluating programs and activities that support statewide climate mitigation and adaptation practices.” The draft does not address adaptation or climate resiliency.
  2. Provide baseline climate and environmental data. In order to meet its monitoring and evaluation obligations, EGLE needs to establish baseline environmental and climate conditions. This data also will help Michiganders better understand the benefits and limitations of carbon neutrality. For instance, if the distinction between avoidable and unavoidable climate impacts is not clearly defined, the public may lose faith as decarbonization proceeds and certain impacts continue to occur. 
  3. Make water a primary focus of the plan. Water is the primary medium through which people experience climate change. Given the importance of water to all Michiganders, we need to understand how our relationship with water is projected to change for the worse without urgent, meaningful action.
  4. Include a glossary of terms. A glossary will help Michiganders more readily navigate climate-change jargon.

We have to eat the apple and plant the seeds at a time like this. By submitting comments, you’ll be doing both.

FLOW Deeply Disappointed in the State of Michigan’s Environmental Permit Approval for Proposed ‘Line 5’ Oil Tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac

Published on January 29th, 2021 by - Blog Posts, News, Reports & Media Releases

Liz Kirkwood, environmental attorney and executive director of FLOW (For Love of Water), reacts to news today that the State of Michigan has granted environmental permit approval for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 oil tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac:

“We are deeply disappointed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE’s) decision today to approve permits for Enbridge’s proposed oil tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac.

“EGLE’s permits ignore direct adverse evidence of the tunnel’s risk to surface waters, wetlands, public trust bottomlands, cultural resources, endangered species, treaty fishing rights, climate change impacts, local economic impacts, tourism, and public and private property. In addition, EGLE’s permits ignore feasible and prudent alternatives to the proposed tunnel. 

“EGLE’s action is directly at odds with the legal process underpinning the Governor Whitmer’s revocation and termination on November 13 of the easement allowing Line 5 to operate in the public waters and bottomlands of the Great Lakes. The governor’s November decision was based on determinations required under the Public Trust Doctrine. Those same findings, required by law, were never made for the proposed tunnel.”

Background:

Many years and legal and regulatory hurdles remain in the state and federal permitting process for Enbridge’s proposed oil tunnel, which might never be built, but continues to distract from the clear and present danger posed by the decaying Line 5 pipelines in the open waters of the Straits of Mackinac. 

Final approval of Enbridge’s proposed oil tunnel remains in doubt as permitting reviews continue by the  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is assessing environmental impacts and alternatives, and the Michigan Public Service Commission, which is considering the project’s public need, climate impacts, and location. 

The proposed tunnel, at roughly 20-feet in diameter and 4 miles long, would house a new Line 5 pipeline. Enbrige’s goal is for Line 5 to continue for another 99 years carrying up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids a day through the public trust bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron.

Enbridge has a terrible track record of oil spills across Michigan from Line 5 and from Line 6b, which in 2010 dumped more than a million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River. 

For more information: