Whether it be the “green ooze” that trickled onto a highway from a shuttered Madison Heights business in 2020 or PFAS currently seeping into west Michigan wells, a new bill ensures those causing pollution catastrophes pay for the health threats they create.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Michigan House Democratic House Floor Leader Yousef Rabhi introduced House Bill 4314, which requires private companies to pay to clean up pollution they create. Current law only requires companies to contain and limit exposure of these pollutants. The financial burden of cleanup falls on residents, who pay through taxes.

Michigan Environmental Council and its fellow Line 5 legal intervenors plan to appeal the decision of a Michigan Public Service Commission Administrative Law Judge regarding the Commission’s review of Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel proposal.

Judge Dennis Mack ruled Tuesday that the Commission must consider environmental impacts when deciding to permit a tunnel that could surround the Line 5 oil pipeline through the Great Lakes for as long as a century. But Mack also ruled that the Commission cannot consider impacts in the context of climate change or the need for the fossil fuels Line 5 transports.

The intervenors' appeal will go before the Commission.

Lana Pollack did not know Joan Wolfe too personally. They would occasionally cross paths when Pollack was a three-term Michigan Senator and Wolfe, as ever, was working to make Michigan’s environment better.

The last time they met was 2012 at a service honoring the late Helen Milliken, environmentalist, women’s rights activist, former First Lady of Michigan.

Wolfe carried layers of loss that day, said Pollack, former president and CEO of Michigan Environmental Council. She had just lost her friend, recently lost her husband and was losing her eyesight. Yet, the 83-year-old still carried a force and spirit with her that Pollack felt during all her meetings over the decades.

It was emblematic of Wolfe’s personal and professional life, one that forever changed state and national environmental law and shaped and invigorated Michigan’s environmental movement.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced recommendations for a $67 billion budget for Michigan. If passed, hundreds of millions of dollars will go toward initiatives at the intersection of the environment, health and justice and strengthen the health of people, their communities and the environment.

Many of Gov. Whitmer’s appropriation recommendations mirror those sent to her administration by Michigan Environmental Council and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday recommended a $55 million appropriation in grants for schools to install and maintain filtered water fountains with bottle fillers and, in some cases, on-tap filters. With this proposed funding, nearly 1.5 million children and tens of thousands of adults are one step closer being better protected against lead from their school’s drinking water.

This “Filter First” approach, which is based on the Natural Resources Defense Council’s model legislation, is the most health-protective, cost-effective and immediate way to remove lead from school drinking water. The approach is advocated for by a coalition of environmental, health and education organizations and leaders.

Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 tunnel proposal is in no way a done deal, and a hearing Friday before the Michigan Public Service Commission is just one example of the continued review process the corporation must undergo, several environmental groups said today.

While Enbridge Energy may have received permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) for the Line 5 tunnel, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Before construction can begin, Enbridge still needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Michigan Public Service Commission and multiple local municipalities.

On Friday, Jan. 29, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy approved permits for Canadian company Enbridge to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac that could house a new Line 5 -- if the pipeline, wrapped up in court cases, is approved.

“One of EGLE’s roles is to protect Michigan’s environment -- it’s in its name,” said Sean Hammond, policy director for Michigan Environmental Council. “Friday’s decision to allow Enbridge, a company known for its oil spills, to build a Line 5 tunnel through our Great Lakes is a step toward environmental peril. The insufficient geotechnical data provided in the application alone should not allow this permit approval.”

The fog of anxiety was thick for many as we trudged through an exhausting election and an ever-present pandemic. Yet, bright lights cut through.

Laws, decisions and amendments passed at 2020’s end will make the health of Michigan’s people, places and finances stronger in 2021 and beyond.

Check out the wins from late 2020 that MEC helped secure. Let’s ring the bells once more!

In a move that will protect the health of Michigan’s water, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed an agreement Thursday that will keep an invasive, destructive species out of our water.

Michigan will provide $8 million in appropriated funds to Illinois, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will use to engineer and design fortifications of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. Once complete, the site will provide a strong series of blockades to keep Asian carp from entering Michigan waterways.

When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency order March 28 requiring water be turned on and kept on in all Michigan homes, she did so to protect everyone’s health.

Clean, easily accessible water is essential for basic sanitation and is especially vital during a health pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control recommend frequent and thorough hand washing to keep people from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to others.

But in October, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Gov. Whitmer needed the Legislature’s approval for orders declared under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act. Many past orders crumbled, including water shutoff protections.