Email your State Legislator to vote NO

Don't let the Michigan state Legislature stagnate environmental progress

The Whitmer administration issued an Executive Order on Monday, February 4, which would have resulted in a major reorganization of Michigan's environmental quality department and needed progress in tackling PFAS contamination and climate change. Now, the state legislature is trying to stop this from happening. Here are all the things our state legislature is trying to prevent:

• EO 2019-2 would eliminate the environmental rules review and permit oversight committees that were created by the legislature last year (“Fox Guarding the Hen House” legislation). These panels were heavily dominated by representatives from industry and the regulated community. By working against this EO, the legislature is handing environmental authority over to an unelected, unaccountable body of industry representatives.

• The EO would create an Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team and an environmental justice public advocate and drinking water public advocate to investigate and respond to citizen complaints. Without these offices, are most vulnerable citizens are more likely to suffer from environmental justice issues, like the Flint water crisis.

• Lastly, the EO creates an Office of Energy and Climate Change, and the resolution would prevent this from happening. Already, we can see the signs of climate change taking hold in Michigan (i.e. the deadly Polar Vortex). We need to begin making a concerted effort to combat climate change.