In an effort to promote government efficiency and cut red tape, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on July 16, 2024, sunsetting two burdensome environmental commissions – the Environmental Permit Review Commission (EPRC) and the Environmental Rules Review Committee (ERRC) – established under the Republican Synder Administration. Legislative efforts already were in the works to repeal both of these environmental commissions, with the ERRC repeal signed into law in February of this year (House Bill 4826 of 2023 (Public Act 9 of 2024) – Michigan Legislature).
According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the permitting review commission intervened at two levels, including the pre-decisional appeals on permitting applications, and the contested case hearings following a decision from an administrative law judge. The ERRC gave polluters and developers an avenue for stopping, slowing, or weakening proposed environmental protection rules.
With the sunsetting of the EPRC and the ERRC, EGLE’s delegated authority is restored, ensuring that environmental permit and rule review processes function without duplication or unnecessary delay.
State Representative Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy) remarked, “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. 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.”
