A clearer picture on flood risk
A group of university researchers called the First Street Foundation released a new tool for assessing flood risk this past week, which shows 70% more properties at risk than the current maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The new maps list 400,000 more parcels at risk across Michigan with 39,744 in Detroit and 11,916 in Warren. An important divergence between these new maps and those FEMA has been using is that FEMA primarily uses historical data to calculate risk whereas First Street is trying to incorporate more data on present environmental conditions, including threats posed by climate change. (Detroit Free Press)
EPA, EGLE to do groundwater cleanup at ‘green ooze’ site
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced plans to manage groundwater contamination around the former Electro-Plating Services site in Madison Heights responsible for contaminating soil and groundwater with hexavalent chromium and other chemicals. This pollution resulted in the highly publicized ‘green ooze’ spilling out onto I-696 last year. The agencies will be treating the contamination by injecting treatment chemicals into the ground to degrade contaminants while a long term strategy for addressing and removing the pollution is determined.
A partial reopening of Line 5, but permission needed for a new tunnel
A court ruling that suspended operation of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac was overturned to allow the oil to flow through the structure’s west leg while an “in-line investigation” is performed. This uses a device that travels through the pipeline itself to evaluate any damage. (MLive)
Meanwhile, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC)—which oversees utilities in the state—says that the company will need state approvalto relocate the pipeline into a tunnel that it’s digging beneath the Straits. This move allows Enbridge and the public to debate the issue before an administrative law judge before the issue is ultimately decided by the MPSC. (Bridge)
COVID-19 outbreaks spread among migrant farmworkers in Michigan
Dozens of cases of the coronavirus in Branch, Oceana, and Lapeer counties have been traced to farms as migrant workers complain of inadequate personal protective equipment. “For the agriculture industry, not only is the work dangerous, but the individuals who do it are invisible to the general public,” Diana Marin, supervising attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, says. Experts also blame shared housing, short growing seasons, and a mistrust of government for contributing to the outbreaks. (Michigan Radio, Bridge)
Michigan’s long and troubled history with pollution
Jon Hartig gives a helpful overview of some of the environmental crises that have plagued the state from mass die-offs of waterfowl caused by oil pollution in the 1940s to the ongoing problem of PFAS contamination. Taken together, these issues have made it hard for Michiganders to get a handle on new problems while still dealing with the legacy of yesterday’s pollution. The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement might offer some guidance going forward with its call for the “virtual elimination of the discharge of persistent toxic substances”. (Great Lakes Now)
House Democrats’ climate plan might be worth paying attention to
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have been working on a climate plan that could get the country close net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 if implemented. Key aspects of the plan include investing in “infrastructure to build a just, equitable, and resilient clean energy economy”, eliminating roadblocks to clean energy technology, making communities more resilient to the effects of climate change, and investing in workers to create a fairer economy. Although this doesn’t contain the universal health care or jobs guarantee of “The Green New Deal”, experts say that it’s a significant development in U.S. climate policy. (Vox)
