Jan 5, 2019
On Friday, December 28, 2018, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder punched a giant hole in Michigan’s environmental safety net. Stunning even the fiercest critics of his environmental record, Snyder signed into law three bills designed to limit his successors from protecting sensitive natural resources and human health. With only three days remaining in office, Snyder degraded his environmental record and reputation, which will always be remembered for the lead poisoning of the people of Flint. But now it will also be associated with ratifying an extremist attack by special interests on Michigan’s reputation for leadership in dealing with environmental threats — a reputation won by two generations of citizens and public officials reaching back to the 1960s. Snyder’s signature made law out of these three assaults on the capacity of the state to respond to public demands for stronger protections: — Making it more difficult for the state Department of Environmental Quality to protect wetlands, which are vital for filtering water pollutants, storing floodwaters and carbon, and providing fish and wildlife habitat (Public Act 631 of 2018). — Preventing the same DEQ from using the latest and most accurate science in setting contamination cleanup standards, and thereby exposing more citizens to unsafe levels of chemicals in the environment (Public Act 581). — Prohibiting the state from adopting rules that go beyond federal minimums except in extraordinary circumstances (Public Act 602). Had such a law been in place in past decades, Michigan might have been unable to act to take action against toxic pesticides like DDT. This pernicious law is a self-imposed straitjacket thwarting the state’s ability to protect the public...
Jan 2, 2019
It’s only the first full day of the Whitmer Administration in Michigan, but the course of the state’s executive branch has already changed dramatically with two laudable actions. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a formal directive to state agency employees to come forward with concerns about any imminent threat to the public health in an attempt to avoid another Flint poisoning, and requested a formal legal opinion from Michigan’s new Attorney General on the legality of a law rushed through the Capitol just last month to facilitate an oil pipeline tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac. These initiatives are impressive first steps for an Administration that has scarcely moved into new offices. They show conviction, leadership and a confirmation of campaign commitments. Expectations should be tempered, however. The key point to make about the Line 5 action is that it is a necessary attempt to enforce the rule of law. It does not shut down Line 5, it does not shut down the proposed tunnel and it does not bring Enbridge into compliance with state environmental laws. If any of these things happen, it will be through a lawful process, and the request for an opinion is the opening of that process. The executive directive born of the Flint disaster, although seemingly less specific, may have the greater impact. By signaling that she wants employees to report imminent threats to public health, safety and welfare to their department heads and wants the directors to be accountable for their response, she has already implemented a critical reform. Her agency heads are both empowered and on notice. It’s only the first full...
