Legislation introduced today by a bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers would protect children from exposure to toxic lead in drinking water by implementing a ‘Filter First” strategy in Michigan schools and daycare centers. The legislation would place filters at the point of use: both installing filtered faucets and water bottle filling stations and installing on-tap filters in sinks where water is used for human consumption, like school kitchens.

DETROIT - Today, it was announced that the Detroit Renewable Power trash incinerator will be shut down. The incinerator has long been a terrible source of pollution for the City of Detroit and emits toxins like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead as well as foul odors. Zero Waste Detroit and Michigan Environmental Council have released the following statement in support of this decision:

LANSING - Today, Governor Whitmer announced that she will be re-establishing the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) science advisory board to study the science around exposure to PFAS. Furthermore, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will be issuing a request for rulemaking to set a drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFAS statewide. The administration wants the MPART groups to inform the scope of the rulemaking and the standards.

Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) praised Governor Snyder's focus on new programs to protect human health and the environment in his Fiscal Year 2019 budget announced today.

“Governor Snyder’s renewed call for a Clean Michigan Initiative (CMI) replacement highlights the critical importance of investing in environmental cleanup,” said Chris Kolb, Michigan Environmental Council president.