Michigan Environmental Report

“Michigan Environmental Council applauds Governor Snyder’s decision to veto HB 5095 which would have weakened Michigan’s ballast water regulation and increased the risk of new invasive species being brought into Michigan’s waters,” said MEC Policy Director James Clift. 

This year started out with a blizzard of policy initiatives swirling around Lansing. Personally, I am encouraged by some of the serious proposals being put forward. Unfortunately, spring of an election year also brings some perennially bad ideas out into the open, and this year is no different. Michigan Environmental Council staff members have been at the Capitol, poring through the fine print, advocating for the good and shining a light on the bad. Here are a few highlights--and lowlights.

Michigan Environmental Council commends Gov. Snyder and his administration for today establishing the strictest Lead and Copper Rule in the United States.

"By strengthening our Lead and Copper Rule to be the strictest in the nation, Gov. Snyder has put Michigan in a leadership position for safeguarding human health," said MEC President Chris Kolb.  "Michigan Environmental Council supports this important advance that will protect our children and families and future generations from lead exposure in drinking water."

The LCR is part of the Safe Drinking Water Act and was first published in 1991 to protect public health by minimizing our exposure to lead and copper in our drinking water. By 1997, all large water systems had to be in compliance with the LCR.

Michigan Environmental Council’s 20th Annual Environmental Awards Celebration is made possible by these generous sponsors.

Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) issued the following statement regarding the Enbridge report released today on building a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to replace the Line 5 oil pipeline.

“This report does not change the fact that the State of Michigan should proceed immediately to use its legal authority and shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. The recent anchor strike of the pipelines showed that every day the state fails to act puts our Great Lakes at risk of a catastrophic oil spill.

For some, happiness is associated with pleasant things, like a good book, maybe relaxing with family, or the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. But not Nancy Warren. Her contentment? It seems to come from ‘the good fight,’ preferably one with long odds of winning.

“My husband has said I am not happy unless I have five or six wars going on,” Nancy laughs. “In fact, it’s become a tradition when friends visit, they always say, ‘What are you fighting this time?’”

The inclination is ingrained. “Once you get the activist’s blood,” she contends, “you can’t stop.” Which has been good for the environment of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

For Joan Rose, water has always held a kind of magic. Maybe that’s in part because Rose, Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University, was born and raised in a place without any water to speak of: Victorville, California, which she calls, “a sleepy little desert town.” As a kid, water meant fun. It meant family beach vacations or lakeside camping trips.

You can still find Rose having fun on the beach—today she’s more likely lounging in Saugatuck or on Mackinac Island than the Pacific Coast—but her relationship with water has become something much deeper. It is scarcely possible to overstate the impact and influence of her pioneering work on the causes and prevention of waterborne diseases.

Michigan Environmental Council to honor pair June 14 in Ypsilanti