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Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Articles
Enbridge wins another round over Dana Nessel in Michigan Line 5 tunnel fight
The Court of Appeals decision this week means Enbridge can move forward for now with next steps on the project, including permit requests needed for tunnel construction
Michigan’s ‘green ooze’ may be ‘tip of iceberg’ of state’s toxic sites
Michigan lawmakers on Wednesday grilled environmental regulators over their response to a “green ooze” disaster in Madison Heights. There are many other crises yet to come, lawmakers warned.
Michigan county threatens to bulldoze Amish homes in poop dispute
An Amish community, with help from the ACLU, argues that Lenawee County is violating its religious freedom by demanding it stop using outhouses and spreading human waste in fields. Local residents are backing the Amish.
Green ooze on Michigan freeway prompts calls for tougher polluter pay laws
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cites an environmental disaster in Oakland County to renew a push for “polluter pays” legislation that would require owners to clean – rather than contain – environmental contaminants used or produced on their property.
Three Michigan Superfund sites among backlog of unfunded polluted sites
Projects in mid-Michigan, northern Michigan and Macomb County remain at a standstill without the money to get started.
How to weigh in on Michigan’s proposed limits on PFAS in drinking water
The state has proposed maximum contaminant limits for seven PFAS compounds in Michigan drinking water. Here’s what they are, and how you can weigh in on the limits.
A look back at our most impactful Michigan environmental coverage of 2019
Upper Peninsula wolves, surging Great Lakes, and examining the impact of the 1973 mass poisoning in St. Louis, Michigan. As 2019 winds down, take a look back at Bridge's most impactful environmental stories of the year.
As surging Great Lakes threaten Michigan, homeowners beg Canada for help
As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer weighs an emergency declaration for towns besieged by rising waters, a movement is growing to ask Canada to stop dumping millions of gallons of water per day into the Great Lakes through dams in northern Ontario.
Michigan Democrats take aim at Nestlé. Farmers urge caution.
Amid tensions on water diversions, Democrats propose legislation that would limit Nestlé’s ability to pump Michigan groundwater and export it out of the state. But farmers say such a law threatens their groundwater rights.
Deal reached between state, townships and Wolverine World Wide over PFAS
Wolverine will pay $69.5 million to extend municipal water to PFAS-affected residents in northern Kent County under the tentative agreement.
Enbridge lost rods in the Straits. It didn’t tell Michigan for two months.
Enbridge says the accident involving lost rods at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac doesn’t pose an environmental risk. But some environmental groups are worried it indicates problems to come.
Michigan DNR said it killed wolves to protect humans. Then we got its emails.
State wildlife leaders violated the state Freedom of Information Act, concealing details surrounding calf deaths and the 2016 shootings of protected gray wolves. Records suggest a different motive for the kills.
Poisoned Michigan: How weak laws and ignored history enabled PFAS crisis
Michigan lawmakers said ‘never again’ after an agricultural mishap sparked one of the worst poisonings in history in 1973. But serious reform never came and some mistakes of that crisis are being repeated with the PFAS threat befouling state waterways.
In a Michigan town with a toxic legacy, residents fought for decades to heal
In the town of St. Louis, a group of rabble-rousers ensured state and federal authorities didn’t forget their toxic legacy. The work is only half done, but could be a lesson for communities now battling PFAS contamination.
Michigan’s PFAS cleanup costs are mounting. Taxpayers may get stuck with the tab.
When a chemical disaster strikes – as it did in the tiny town of St. Louis – bills mount far faster than polluters’ willingness to pay. It’s a lesson survivors of the crisis fear will repeat with PFAS, which Michigan already has spent tens of millions to address.
Michigan found PFAS in Oscoda in 2010. There’s still no plan to clean it up.
An ignored 2010 report about PFAS is just one of several bureaucratic hurdles that has slowed Michigan’s response to the chemical that is now befouling waters. The delays are reminiscent of those that prolonged the PBB contamination of livestock in the 1970s.
Letter suggests Bill Schuette shrugged off request to sue 3M over PFAS
As he left office, the former attorney general told Rick Snyder he couldn’t sue because the governor’s staff never greenlighted a lawsuit — even though Snyder himself requested the suit.
Graphic photos vivid reminders of horror of Michigan PBB chemical crisis
This slideshow shows how a 1973 mixup at a chemical company in St. Louis sparked an agricultural and health disaster statewide that still affects residents. Warning: Some photos may be upsetting.
Marquette girds for climate change in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Marquette may become a destination as high heat and drought drive folks from southern communities more vulnerable to a shifting climate. But it still faces challenges — from intensifying rains to disease-carrying pests.
Old mines, perilous drains in Michigan’s Copper Country, which now eyes a fix
Epic floods devastated Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. Foundations are now stepping in to fix a unique vulnerability: century-old drainage systems — built by mining companies — that sat neglected after mines shuttered and towns shrank.