environment

MPSC To Develop Power Plan That Reflect Governor’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets

LANSING - Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps last week asked MPSC Staff and stakeholders in its MI Power Grid initiative to develop recommendations for updating utility integrated resource planning requirements to reflect reduced greenhouse gas emissions targets set by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality no later than 2050.  Gov.

By |2020-09-28T08:33:25-04:00September 28th, 2020|Clean Update, Politics, Politics/Government|

State Unveils New Plan For Lake Erie Water Quality Improvement

LANSING—Michigan state government has released a draft Adaptive Management Plan that will inform decisions and guide projects outlined in the Domestic Action Plan for Lake Erie, a targeted approach for improving water quality and reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the lake by 40 percent by 2025. Decreasing phosphorus inputs is intended to help reduce

By |2020-03-01T11:20:05-05:00March 1st, 2020|Clean Update, ESD, Politics, Politics/Government|

21 Michiganders Selected For First Environmental Justice Advisory Council

DETROIT - Twenty-one Michiganders have been selected to the state’s first Michigan Advisory Council for Environmental Justice under the direction of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy announced. “Since taking office, I’ve been deliberate and focused on protecting our Great Lakes, cleaning up our drinking water, and combating the

By |2020-02-16T13:40:30-05:00February 16th, 2020|Clean Update|

What Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Plans Mean For Michigan Environment

ANN ARBOR - Democrats competing in Michigan’s March 10 presidential primary are touting environmental plans to fight climate change, clean up drinking water and replace aging infrastructure that could have major effects on Michigan and the Great Lakes. Many candidates are describing their proposals as a Green New Deal, referencing the massive 1930s initiative by

By |2020-02-13T16:19:19-05:00February 13th, 2020|Clean Update, Featured, Politics, Politics/Government|

Enbridge Disputes AG Nessel’s Claim Taxpayers Could Pay For Oil Spill Cleanup

ANN ARBOR - Enbridge is disputing Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s suggestion that state taxpayers “could be left holding the bag” for cleanup costs if the Candadian-based company’s twin Line 5 oil and gas pipelines were to rupture in the Straits of Mackinac. “The bottom line is Enbridge will take full responsibility and pay for

By |2019-11-06T10:24:51-05:00November 6th, 2019|Guest Columns|

Peters Touts Small Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding Bump

LANSING - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters announced last week additional funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for the 2020 fiscal year that has passed the U.S. Senate as part of a government spending bill. Funding for the initiative would increase to $310 million from $301 million if the provision Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) helped shepherd through

By |2019-11-04T20:44:49-05:00November 4th, 2019|Politics, Politics/Government|

Enbridge Wins Suit Challenging Whitmer Blocking Of Line 5 Tunnel

LANSING - The law creating the authority to oversee the construction of a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house the Line 5 oil pipeline is constitutional, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled Thursday in a major victory for Enbridge. After Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion earlier this year that the law, signed

By |2019-10-31T20:25:49-04:00October 31st, 2019|Clean Update, Politics, Politics/Government|

Enviro Rules Panel Tables PFAS Draft Rules, Advocates Blast ‘Delay’

LANSING - Despite pleas from community and environmental groups to move forward with draft drinking water standards that would establish testing levels for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the Environmental Rules Review Committee decided Thursday to table the rules until a special meeting on November 14. The move comes following some committee members feeling they didn't

By |2019-10-31T20:25:49-04:00October 31st, 2019|Clean Update, Politics, Politics/Government|

PFAS Drinking Water Draft Standards Announced

LANSING - The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced Friday that it will be moving forward in formally setting a threshold on certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Michigan drinking water, becoming the first in the nation to do so and aiming for finalizing the policy as soon as April 2020. These draft

By |2019-10-13T17:36:32-04:00October 13th, 2019|Politics, Politics/Government|