Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Department overview
Formed1995
Preceding department
JurisdictionMichigan
HeadquartersLansing, Michigan
Annual budget$502.6 million (2015)[1]
Department executive
  • Phil Roos, Director
Child agencies
  • Air Quality Division
  • Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division
  • Environmental Investigation Section
    • Environmental Support Division
    • Finance Division
    • Oil, Gas, and Minerals Division
    • Office of the Great Lakes
    • Materials Management Division
    • Office of Climate and Energy
    • Water Resources Division
Websitemichigan.gov/egle/

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), formerly Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (Michigan DEQ, MDEQ, or simply DEQ), is a principal department of the U.S. state of Michigan for environmental issues. The department was created in 1995.

History

Environmental Quality

In 1995, the Department of Environmental Quality was created by Executive Order No. 1995-18, which transferred environmental regulatory functions from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to the newly created department.[2][3] This was part of a broader effort by Governor John Engler to "secure more direct oversight over" state environmental policy and reduce the number of state environmental employees through budget cuts."[2]

The DEQ's first director was Russell J. Harding, appointed by Engler.[2] Harding "developed a national reputation for leading opposition to any state intervention on climate change as well as most other policy initiatives proposed by the federal government or by the states and provinces of the Great Lakes Basin."[2] Under Harding, the Michigan DEQ "regularly spurned federal grants to study climate change" and rejected outreach from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking state engagement.[4] Harding said that he believed that addressing climate change would cause an economic risk to the state.[5]

In 1996, Executive Order No. 1996-1 transferred oversight of environmental health programs "relating to drinking water and radiological protection" from the Michigan Department of Public Health to the DEQ, and Executive Order No. 1996-2 transferred the Low Level Radioactive Waste Authority from the Michigan Department of Commerce to the DEQ.[3]

In 1997, Executive Order No. 1997-2 "transferred the Above Ground Storage Tank Program and the inspection of dry cleaning establishments" from the Department of State Police to the DEQ, and Executive Order No. 1997-3 transferred the Michigan Environmental Science Board and the Environmental Administration Division from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget to the DEQ.[3]

In 1999, the Water Quality Advisory Board was created by Executive Order 1999-10. This body is responsible for advising the DEQ on the "implementation of a comprehensive, long-term water quality monitoring program designed to measure the quality of Michigan's streams, rivers and lakes, and detect areas of the state that need additional water quality control efforts."[3]

In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm moved to merge the DNR and the DEQ into a new Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE).[3] The state Senate passed a resolution to stop the merger.[6] However, Granholm's Executive Order No. 2009-45 combined the two over the objections of the Senate.[3]

In early 2010, a new Saginaw Bay District headquarters of the Michigan DNR opened in Bay City; the building was reported to be the most energy-efficient in Michigan.[7] The building was the first governmental office building in Michigan to achieve LEED Platinum certification.[8]

In 2011, Governor Rick Snyder's first-ever executive order, Executive Order 2011-1, split the DNRE, returning DNR and DEQ into separate agencies,[3] which Snyder said would allow each to focus on its core mission.[9] Under a state law enacted in October 2011, the Michigan Geological Survey was transferred from the Michigan DEQ to the Western Michigan University (WMU) Department of Geosciences, making WMU "the designated geoscience agency in Michigan, with responsibility for mapping and assessing the state's geological resources."[10][11]

Flint water crisis

In 2015 and 2016, the Michigan DEQ was criticized for its role in the Flint water crisis; agency officials repeatedly dismissed citizens' concerns about water quality in Flint, leading to a delay in addressing lead poisoning in the city's water supply. The DEQ also revised water samples to wrongly indicate that the water was safe, changing the lead-level results from unacceptable to acceptable, delaying action.[12] DEQ Director Dan Wyant acknowledged in October 2015 that the department had failed to follow the relevant federal regulation and had made other errors.[13]

The department also initially dismissed a researcher's reports about rising blood lead levels in Flint children.[14] A December 2015 report by the Flint Water Advisory Task Force found that "primary responsibility" for the Flint water crisis lies with the DEQ and that the department had agency "failed in its responsibility" to ensure safe drinking water.[14] Governor Snyder issued an apology, and DEQ director Wyant and DEQ public information officer Brad Wurfel resigned over the affair.[14]

On April 23, 2019, Status Coup released the documentary Flushing Flint which claimed that the water testing by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) was manipulated by MDEQ staff taking water samples after flushing running water from taps for several minutes before taking the samples, contrary to normal procedures for water testing for lead and copper, and by MDEQ staff telling residents that they should take water samples after flushing running water from their taps for several minutes.[15][16] This would clearly contravene the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance that samples taken must be "first-draw samples at taps in homes/buildings".[17]

Environment, Great Lakes and Energy

Gretchen Whitmer's first re-organizational executive order for the department was rejected by the state legislature for eliminating three panels recently created by the legislature. Whitmer signed a second order that retained two of those three panels and changed the department's name to Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. The second order also created an Office of Climate and Energy, Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate and an Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team, and made various other organizational changes.[18] The Office of the Great Lakes was transferred from the Department of Natural Resources. The name change and reorganization took effect on April 22, 2019.[19]

Administration and budget

Sources of DEQ's FY 2015 budget
DEQ's FY 2015 expenditures

The EGLE is headquartered at Constitution Hall in the state capital of Lansing. The DEQ operated ten district and field offices, covering a particular group of counties; these offices are located in the following cities Bay City, Cadillac, Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Lansing, Marquette, Warren, and Detroit.[20]

Under Michigan Public Act 252 of 2014, the DEQ's budget for fiscal year 2015, which ran from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015, was about $502 million.[1] In April 2014, Governor Snyder called for this funding to increase the residential recycling rate in Michigan, which stood then at about 14.5 percent.[21]

List of directors

See also

References

  1. 1 2 House Bill 5313: FY 2014-15 General Omnibus Appropriation Bill, Bill Analysis from the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rabe, p. 42.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 History of DEQ, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (accessed January 11, 2016).
  4. ↑ Rabe, pp. 42-43.
  5. ↑ Rabe, p. 43.
  6. ↑ "Metro briefs: Granholm merger plan voted down". Detroit News. Detroit, Michigan. November 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  7. ↑ Jeff Kart, New DEQ building in Bay City will be most energy-efficient building in Michigan (January 28, 2010).
  8. ↑ DEQ Goes "Green" in Bay City, MiDEQ Spotlight (undated).
  9. ↑ Governor Snyder signs first Executive Order, creates separate departments of natural resources and environmental quality (press release), Office of the Governor (January 4, 2011).
  10. ↑ Julie Mack, Western Michigan University takes ownership of the Michigan Geological Survey program, MLive (October 12, 2011).
  11. ↑ Cheryl Roland, Michigan Geological Survey finds new home at WMU, WMU News (October 12, 2011).
  12. ↑ Paul Egan, State's handling of Flint water samples delayed action, Detroit Free Press (December 24, 2015).
  13. ↑ John Wisely & Robin Erb, State admits mistakes in Flint water switch, Detroit Free Press (October 19, 2015).
  14. 1 2 3 Paul Egan, Snyder apologizes, Wyant resigns in Flint water crisis, Detroit Free Press (December 29, 2015).
  15. ↑ "Status Coup Journalist Jordan Chariton exposes wrongdoing in Flint water testing". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Flushing Flint Documentary: EXPOSED: The Crisis Isn't Trump, the Border, or Russia…". Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  17. ↑ Lead and Copper Rule: A Quick Reference Guide (Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). June 2008. EPA 816-F-08-018.
  18. ↑ Gibbons, Lauren (February 21, 2019). "Republican lawmakers will not challenge Whitmer's second DEQ restructuring plan". Mlive Lansing. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  19. 1 2 3 Gardner, Paula (April 22, 2019). "Michigan launches new name for expanded environment department". mlive.com. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  20. ↑ Locations, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (accessed January 11, 2016).
  21. ↑ Michigan's Residential Recycling Plan
  22. ↑ Russell Harding, A Growing Disaster, New York Times (November 29, 2009).
  23. ↑ Personalities in Politics — An Interview With Former DEQ Director Russell Harding, MIRS Capitol Capsule, Mackinac Center for Public Policy (August 13, 2004).
  24. ↑ Granholm-Cherry name Directors of DEQ, State Police (undated press release), State of Michigan.
  25. ↑ Amy Lane, Steven Chester, ex-director of Michigan DEQ, joins Foley & Lardner L.L.P., Crain's Detroit Business (February 4, 2010).
  26. ↑ Emily Lawler, Director Dan Wyant resigns after task force blasts MDEQ over Flint water crisis, MLive (December 29, 2015).
  27. ↑ Emily Lawler, Flint water prompts state changes: DNR Director Keith Creagh appointed as interim DEQ director, MLive (December 30, 2015).
  28. ↑ "DEQ - Meet the Director". www.michigan.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-08-24.

Works cited

  • Barry G. Rabe, Statehouse and Greenhouse: The Emerging Politics of American Climate Change Policy (Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2004)
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